And  the  Herbartians 


HERBART 


EDITED  BY  NICHOLAS  MURRAY  BUTLER 


HERBART 


AND    THE    HERBARTIANS 


BT 
CHARLES    DE  GARMO,  Pn.D. 

PEESIDENT  OF   SWAETHMOEE    COLLEGE,   PENNSYLVANIA 


NEW  YORK 

CHARLES    SCRIBNER'S    SONS 
1896 


COPYRIGHT,  1895,  BY 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS. 


PREFACE 

THE  purpose  of  this  volume  is  to  give  a  bird's-eye 
view  of  Herbart  and  his  doctrines  of  education,  both 
as  presented  by  himself,  and  as  developed  by  his  suc- 
cessors. In  English-speaking  countries  his  system  of 
educational  thought  is  for  most  teachers  still  in  the 
stage  of  exposition ;  furthermore,  the  beginner  in  every 
well-organized,  far-reaching  system  is  always  in  need 
of  an  introduction.  To  the  teacher,  therefore,  who 
inquires  for  the  leading  purposes  of  this  school,  and 
the  methods  whereby  it  is  sought  to  realize  them,  this 
book  attempts  an  intelligible  answer.  It  concerns 
itself  but  little  with  Herbart's  metaphysics,  and 
rigorously  refrains  from  introducing  confusing  refine- 
ments of  doctrine.  It  confines  its  attention  strictly 
to  essentials.  Only  epoch-making  men  and  their  chief 
contributions  are  considered  at  all.  If,  therefore, 
among  so  many  men  worthy  of  mention,  so  few  are 
treated,  and  even  with  these  the  discussion  confined 
to  essentials,  the  reason  must  be  sought  in  the  pur- 
pose to  make  clear  to  the  inquiring  teacher  what  the 
Herbartians  are  trying  to  do  and  how  they  are  trying 
to  do  it. 

The  ultimate  purpose  of  the  Herbartians  may  be 
said  to  be  the  development  of  character,  not  in  a  nar- 


2053959 


Ti  PREFACE 

row  subjective  sense,  but  in  a  broad  social  one.  They 
seek  to  fit  the  child  for  every  important  phase  of 
family,  social,  civil,  religious,  and  economic  life,  —  to 
develop,  in  short,  the  whole  boy  or  girl.  In  this  broad 
aim  they  are,  perhaps,  not  peculiar;  but  they  have 
certainly  made  some  contributions  as  to  the  means  for 
accomplishing  this  end,  so  devoutly  to  be  desired  for 
public  education.  The  strength  of  their  position  is, 
that  they  show  how  under  favorable  circumstances 
this  result  can  be  achieved  with  the  agencies  already 
at  the  command  of  the  school ;  namely,  the  common- 
school  studies  as  they  may  be  taught,  together  with 
the  ordinary  discipline  of  the  school.  They  believe 
that,  properly  selected,  articulated,  and  taught,  the 
common  branches  of  an  elementary  education  are 
potent  influences  in  training  the  child's  moral  insight 
and  disposition. 

But  this  training  must  be  in  full  harmony  with  the 
nature  of  the  child's  mind,  and  especially  with  his 
moral  and  intellectual  apperception,  or  assimilative 
power.  We  find,  consequently,  that  the  burning 
questions  with  this  body  of  teachers  pertain,  first,  to 
the  selection  and  sifting  of  suitable  subject-matter 
in  the  various  studies ;  then  to  its  rational  articula- 
tion or  coordination;  and  finally,  to  the  truest  and 
best  methods  of  teaching  it  to  the  child.  Every 
teacher  will  recognize  that  this  purpose  and  these 
means  are  the  important  things  in  education. 

CHARLES  DB   GARMO. 

SWARTHMORE    COLLEGE, 

October,  1894. 


CONTENTS 


PREFACE 


PAKT  I 

HERBART'S    CONTRIBUTION    TO    EDUCATION 

CHAPTER   I 
WHAT  PESTALOZZI  LEFT  FOR  HERBART  TO  DO         .        .        3 

CHAPTER  H 
HERBART'S  LIFE  AND  WORKS 12 

CHAPTER  HI 
HERBART'S  PSYCHOLOGY     ......        .23 

CHAPTER  IV 
HERBART'S  ETHICS  —  A  GUIDE  TO  EDUCATIONAL  ENDS  .      47 

CHAPTER  V 

THE  DOCTRINE  OF  INTEREST  —  ITS  BEARING  UPON  KNOWL- 
EDGE AND  VOLITION   .......      57 

CHAPTER  VI 

INSTRUCTION  —  ITS  MATERIALS,  COURSE,  AND  METHOD   .      67 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  Vn  PAGB 

SCHOOL  DISCIPLINE  —  GOVERNMENT  AND  TRAINING          .      83 


PART  II 

EXTENSION    AND    APPLICATION    OF    HEEB ART'S 
EDUCATIONAL    IDEAS    IN    GERMANY 

CHAPTER    I 
TUIBKON   ZlLLER   AND   KARL  VOLKMAR   SlOY    .  .  .      101 

CHAPTER  II 

TUISKON  ZlLLER 103 

CHAPTER  III 

ZILLER'S  THEORY  OF  THE  HISTORICAL  STAGES  OP  CUL- 
TURE     107 

CHAPTER  IV 
ZILLER'S  THEORY  OF  CONCENTRATION  OF  STUDIES  .        .113 

CHAPTER  V 

METHOD  IN  TEACHING  —  THE    FORMAL    STAGES   OF   IN- 
STRUCTION     130 

CHAPTER  VI 

DR.  WILLIAM   REIN  —  REDUCING   THEORY   TO  PRACTICE 

IN  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 141 

CHAPTER  VII 
DR.  KARL  LANGE  —  APPERCEPTION          ....     166 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

DR.  KARL  VOLKMAR  STOT  —  LEADER  OF  THE  CONSERVA- 

TIVE HERBARTIANS       .......     180 

CHAPTER  IX 

DR.  OTTO  THICK,  LATE  DIRECTOR  OF  THE  FRANKISCHEN 

STIFTUNGEN  IN  HALLE        ......    187 


PART  III 

HEEBARTIAN    IDEAS    IN    AMERICA 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  HERBART  CLUB         .......    205 

CHAPTER  II 
THREE  PLANS  FOR  THE  CORRELATION  OF  STUDIES  .        .     215 

CHAPTER  III 
A  NEW  ERA  IN  EDUCATION      ......     228 

CHAPTER  IV 
PROPOSED  BASES  FOR  THE  COORDINATION  OF  STUDIES     .     240 

APPENDIX 257 


PART  I 

HERBART'S   CONTRIBUTION  TO 
EDUCATION 


HERBART   AND   THE   HERBAR- 
TIANS 

CHAPTER  I 
WHAT  PESTALOZZI  LEFT  FOR  HERBART  TO  DO 

WHAT  the  labors  of  Pestalozzi  have  done  for  Ger- 
man education  were  long  to  tell.  It  concerns  us  more 
for  present  purposes  to  know  what  he  left  undone. 
The  world  has  read  the  history  of  Germany's  brilliant 
educational  development,  whose  initial  stages  are 
found  in  the  work  of  the  Swiss  Reformer,  his  disci- 
ples and  successors.  The  story  need  not  be  retold. 
The  schools  of  the  United  States,  so  far  as  educational 
theory  is  concerned,  trace  their  origin  in  large  part  to 
the  same  primal  sources.  But  because  these  men  did 
so  much,  it  does  not  follow  that  they  did  everything. 
Like  all  great  reforms,  that  begun  by  Pestalozzi  was 
emotional  rather  than  scientific  in  its  initial  stages. 
Exact  and  logical  thought  does  not  stir  a  nation  into  a 
great  movement  for  the  educational  uplifting  of  the 
masses,  but  serves  rather  to  give  direction  and  effi- 
ciency to  what  has  been  set  in  motion  by  moral  forces. 
Pestalozzi  was  a  true  reformer.  He  could  see  the  end 
to  be  reached,  he  could  rouse  all  Europe  to  the  sore 
need  of  the  people,  he  could  expose  the  barrenness  of 
formal  teaching,  he  could  announce  universal  princi- 

3 


4      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

pies ;  but  in  directing  his  pupils  over  the  long  road 
that  leads  from  ignorance  to  knowledge,  from  untu- 
tored natural  disposition  to  moral  freedom,  he  could 
indeed  rely  upon  the  guidance  that  comes  of  faith, 
but  not  so  surely  upon  that  which  comes  from  sight. 
This  for  him  was  doubtless  best,  but  for  the  generations 
of  teachers  to  follow,  who  could  not  be  fired  with  his 
divine  enthusiasm,  it  became  as  necessary  to  see  as  to 
believe. 

For  a  very  good  reason,  however,  Pestalozzi  is  ex- 
cusable for  not  establishing  his  instruction  upon  a  firm 
psychological  basis.  At  that  time,  no  psychology  in 
the  modern  sense  of  the  term  existed.  It  is  true 
that  Immanuel  Kant  had  developed  his  system  of  the 
rational  presuppositions  that  make  mind  and  expe- 
rience possible,  but  he  had  studiously  neglected  ex- 
perience itself,  so  that  his  work  had  little  or  no  effect 
in  determining  how  the  mind  of  the  child  shall  be 
trained.  The  current  psychology  of  the  day  was,  for 
the  most  part,  that  of  Aristotle  plus  a  good  many 
misconceptions  that  had  gradually  accumulated  in  the 
common  mind.  This,  added  to  the  fact  that  Pesta- 
lozzi's  reform  had  its  sources  in  the  heart  rather  than 
in  the  head,  enables  us  to  understand  that  there  was 
something  left  for  Herbart  to  do ;  namely,  to  give 
scientific  precision  to  instruction  and  moral  training 
by  founding  them  upon  an  adequate  system  of  psy- 
chology and  ethics. 

Bacon  describes  three  classes  of  thinkers,  compar- 
ing them  to  three  insects,  the  spider,  the  ant,  and  the 
bee.  Some  men,  like  the  spider,  he  says,  spin  all  their 
knowledge  out  of  themselves;  some  collect  it  indis- 


WHAT  PESTALOZZI  LEFT  FOR   HERBART  TO  DO     5 

criminately  like  the  ant ;  while  others  gather  facts 
wherever  they  can  find  them,  and  from  these  facts 
bring  forth  new  products  by  means  of  their  own 
thoughtful  elaboration,  just  as  the  bee  produces  honey 
from  the  sweets  he  has  gathered  from  the  flowers. 
Pestalozzi's  method  of  investigation  seems  to  have 
been  the  kind  mentioned  first.  He  looked  into  his 
own  heart  and  mind  for  the  laws  of  mental  growth, 
formulated  them,  and  forthwith  began  to  spin  his 
theories  of  instruction.  Thus,  in  one  place  he  says : 
"In  these  laws  I  believe  I  shall  certainly  find  the 
threads  out  of  which  a  universal  psychological  method 
of  instruction  can  be  spun.  Man !  say  I  to  myself, 
in  dreamy  search  for  these  threads,  in  the  ripening  of 
every  species  of  fruit,  you  recognize  in  all  its  parts  the 
result  of  the  wholly  perfected  product,  and  you  must 
regard  no  human  judgment  as  ripe  that  does  not 
appear  in  all  its  parts  as  the  result  of  complete  ob- 
servation of  the  object  considered." 

The  following  are  examples  of  these  general  princi- 
ples of  instruction,  empirically  received,  from  which 
Pestalozzi  seeks  to  evolve  the  methods  of  teaching :  — 

1.  "  Learn,  therefore,  to  arrange  thy  perceptions, 
and  to  complete  the  simple  before  proceeding  to  the 
complex. 

2.  "Further,  bring  together  in  thy  mind  all  those 
things  which  essentially  belong  together,  in  the  same 
connection  in  which  they  are  actually  found  in  nature. 

3.  "Strengthen  and  intensify  thy  impression  of  im- 
portant objects  by  bringing  them  nearer  through  art, 
and  by  making  them  act  upon  thee  through  the  differ- 
ent senses. 


6       HERBAKT  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

4.  "  Regard  all  the   effects  of  physical   nature  as 
absolutely  necessary,  and  recognize  in  this  necessity 
the  result  of  the  power  with  which  they  unify  their 
apparently  heterogeneous  elements  to  the  realization 
of  their  purpose;  and    let  the  art  with  which  thou, 
through  instruction,  workest  upon  thy  race,  as  well  as 
the  results  which  it  effects,  be  elevated  to  a  like  phys- 
ical necessity,  so  that  in  all  of  thy  doing,  all  means, 
however  heterogeneous  in  appearance,  work  together 
for  the  accomplishment  of  their  great  purpose. 

5.  "  But  richness  and  variety  in  environment  and  ex- 
citation cause  the  results  of  physical  necessity  to  bear 
the  impress  of  freedom  and  independence." 

"  From  these  individual  principles,"  he  again  re- 
marks, "  we  may  spin  out  the  threads  of  a  universal 
and  psychological  method  of  instruction." 

Like  an  impetuous  leader  with  an  army  before  a 
river,  Pestalozzi  does  not  wait  to  build  a  bridge,  but 
bids  all  rush  in.  Many  get  over ;  yet  some  are  lost, 
and  all  are  wet. 

Looking  at  the  query,  What  was  left  for  Herbart  to 
do  ?  from  another  standpoint,  we  shall  see  that  one  of 
the  main  results  of  the  labors  of  Comenius,  Rousseau, 
and  Pestalozzi  is  the  firmly  fixed  conviction  that 
observation,  or  the  use  of  the  senses,  and  in  general 
the  consideration  of  simple  concrete  facts  in  every 
field  of  knowledge,  is  the  sure  foundation  upon 
which  all  right  elementary  education  rests.  This 
truth  is  now  the  acknowledged  starting-point  of  all 
scientific  methods  of  teaching,  yet  the  fact  of  the  im- 
portance of  observation  in  instruction  does  not  carry 
with  it  any  information  showing  how  the  knowledge 


WHAT  PESTALOZZI  LEFT  FOR  HERBART  TO  DO      7 

so  obtained  can  be  utilized,  or  what  its  nature,  time, 
amount,  and  order  of  presentation  should  be.  In  short, 
it  does  not  show  how  mental  assimilation  can  best 
take  place,  or  how  the  resulting  acquisitions  can  be 
made  most  efficiently  to  influence  the  emotional  and 
volitional  side  of  our  nature.  Perception  is,  indeed, 
the  first  stage  in  cognition,  but  its  equally  important 
correlative  is  apperception,  or  mental,  assimilation. 
It  is  Herbart  and  his  successors  who  have  made  us 
distinctly  conscious  of  this  fact.  The  following  para- 
graph from  Dr.  William  T.  Harris  confirms  the  view 
here  taken :  "  The  progress  of  education  is  in  a  zigzag 
line,  from  extreme  to  extreme.  This  appears  through- 
out all  history.  But  were  it  not  that  succeeding  times 
profit  by  the  experience  of  their  forerunners,  the  prog- 
ress would  not  be  assured.  The  history  of  the  good 
and  bad  incident  to  one  extreme  is  sufficient  to  pre- 
vent its  repetition.  The  extremes  are  new  ones  at 
least  in  substantial  features,  and  not  a  discouraging 
survival  of  past  issues.  At  one  time  the  schools  have 
tended  almost  exclusively  to  memory-culture,  with 
very  little  attempt  at  verification  by  original  research 
and  observation.  This  was  the  case  with  what  is 
called  the  old  education,  and  if  we  are  to  believe  the 
critics,  this  ought  to  be  called  the  prevailing  system  of 
our  time  also.  But  Pestalozzi  exploded  the  theory  on 
which  it  rests  and  substituted  another.  He  laid  stress 
on  sense-preception,  verification,  and  original  research. 
The  practice  of  our  time  may  not  correspond  to  its 
theory,  but  certainly  all  writers  uphold  the  Pestaloz- 
zian  doctrine  of  instruction  by  object-lessons.  But 
while  this  reform  is  progressing  towards  its  extreme, 


8       HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

another  tendency  has  begun  within  a  few  years,  and  it 
promises  to  force  a  new  departure  on  our  zigzag  line. 
This  is  the  doctrine  of  Herbart,  which  holds  that  it  is 
not  so  much  sense-perception  that  is  wanted  in  educa- 
tion as  apperception — not  so  much  seeing  and  hearing 
and  handling  things,  as  recognizing  them  and  under- 
standing them.  The  Herbartian  trend  on  our  zigzag 
of  progress  helps  to  reeuforce  sense-perception  by 
the  memory,  through  the  use  of  the  causal  series  of 
ideas.  It  therefore  combines  the  two  former  trends 
in  a  higher.  Doubtless  there  will  be  new  trends  on 
the  zigzag  of  progress  to  correct  the  extremes  and 
errors  of  Herbartianism,  but,  compared  with  Pesta- 
lozzi's  theory  of  intellectual  instruction,  or  with  that 
other  and  older  theory  of  memory  as  the  sole  intellec- 
tual faculty,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Herbar- 
tians  are  right."  1 

Closely  allied  to  the  fact  that  Herbart  gave  the 
initial  impulse  tp  this  combination  of  memory  and 
perception  in  apperception,  is  another  of  almost  equal 
importance.  "The  natural  harmonious  development 
of  all  the  powers  of  a  human  being  for  the  sake  of  his 
true  moral  nature  "  is  a  principle  to  which  Pestalozzi 
ever  recurs.  "  It  is,"  says  Vogel,  "  the  new  principle 
of  Pestalozzi's  pedagogics.  True,  Comenius  and  Rous- 
seau declared  for  an  education  in  accordance  with 
nature.  But  whereas  Comenius  by  'nature'  under- 
stood the  external  world  of  plants  and  animals  and 
physical  forces,  and  Rousseau  meant  nature  as  op- 
posed to  art,  Pestalozzi  penetrated  to  the  depths  of 

1  Dr.  William  T.  Harris,  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education,  Edu- 
cational Review,  May,  1893. 


WHAT  PESTALOZZI  LEFT  FOR  HERBART  TO  DO      9 

human  nature,  since  he  found  this  principle  in  moral 
feeling,  in  the  freedom  that  is  guided  by  duty." l 

Herbart  fully  accepts  Pestalozzi's  statement  of  the 
ultimate  end  of  education,  but  attempts  to  show  how 
the  daily  activity  of  the  school  may  bring  about  this 
desirable  result,  —  a  problem  that  Pestalozzi  never 
solved  for  others.  It  is  a  cardinal  doctrine  with  all 
followers  of  Herbart,  that  instruction  itself  should 
consciously  work  toward  moral  ends.  The  watch- 
word upon  their  banner  is  Erziehender  Unterricht;  that 
is,  instruction  that  makes  for  character.  It  is  to  a 
scientific  study  of  psychology  and  ethics  in  their 
application  to  teaching  that  they  look  for  guidance 
in  the  matter. 

Briefly  summarizing,  Pestalozzi,  his  contemporaries, 
and  successors,  left  a  threefold  work  for  Herbart  to 
do,  as  follows  :  1.  The  development  of  a  psychology 
capable  of  immediate  bearing  on  the  problems  of 
teaching;  2.  The  scientific  application  of  this  psy- 
chology to  education  ;  and  3.  The  revelation  of  the 
possibility  of  making  all  the  activities  of  the  school- 
room, including  especially  instruction,  bear  directly 
upon  the  development  of  moral  character. 

We  should  not  regard  Herbart's  contributions  as 
additions,  however  important,  to  an  educational  mo- 
saic already  existing.  Such  a  view  would  be  most 
misleading.  His  work  is  fundamental,  compelling  a 
new  elaboration  of  the  whole  theory  of  education. 
Whenever  the  world  has  discovered  a  new  principle 
or  method  of  thought,  all  its  work  has  been  done 

1  Dr.  August  Vogel,  Geschichte  der  Padagogik  als  Wissenschaft, 
p.  161. 


10      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

over  again.  Bacon's  revival  of  the  inductive  method 
was  not  an  addition  to  science,  but  a  revolution  in 
science.  The  results  wrought  out  in  the  Middle  Ages 
were  discarded  or  wholly  revised.  Since  Darwin  and 
his  fellow-workers  established  the  theory  of  evolu- 
tion as  a  standpoint  in  thinking,  the  whole  field  of 
knowledge  has  been  reexamined  in  accordance  with 
the  new  principle.  Not  only  the  natural  sciences,  but 
ethics,  religion,  psychology,  and  even  metaphysics, 
have  felt  the  leavening  influence  of  the  evolutionist. 
It  takes  a  large  volume  to  record  the  progress  of  the 
last  ten  years  in  bacteriology.  No  student  of  this 
science  regards  it  as  a  mere  addition  to  the  sum  of 
medical  knowledge,  but  it  is  to  him  a  new  standpoint 
from  which  to  reexamine  all  medical  and  surgical 
science.  The  psycho-physicist  does  not  dream  of  re- 
stricting his  investigations  to  the  interaction  between 
mind  and  body,  but  claims  the  whole  dominion  of 
psychology,  if  not  of  metaphysics,  for  the  application 
of  his  method ;  that  is,  he  too  must  open  up  again  in  a 
new  way  all  that  other  methods  claim  to  have  settled. 
Copernicus  did  not  add  new  circles  to  the  already  com- 
plicated system  of  Ptolemy;  he  wrought  out  a  new 
astronomy  with  the  old  stars.  In  a  similiar  way,  Her- 
bart,  using  the  same  facts  of  human  nature  and  experi- 
ence, the  same  materials  and  means  of  instruction  and 
training,  brings  forth  new  products  through  the  appli- 
cation of  new  principles.  As  Dr.  Harris  says,  the 
two  old  stages  of  education,  memory  and  perception, 
are  united  by  him  into  the  higher  one  of  apperception, 
or  mental  assimilation.  The  laws  of  mental  develop- 
ment are  examined  anew ;  each  branch  of  instruction 


WHAT  PESTALOZZI  LEFT  FOE  HERBART  TO  DO     11 

is  studied  in  its  relations  to  the  pupil's  needs,  under- 
standing, and  interests,  and  all  the  studies  of  the  cur- 
riculum are  considered  in  their  double  relations  to  one 
another  and  to  the  apperception  of  the  pupil.  Finally, 
the  truest  and  best  methods  of  uniting  these  two 
factors,  the  mind  of  the  child  and  the  materials  of 
instruction  and  training,  are  investigated.  This  treat- 
ment is  comparable  in  kind  to  that  of  the  modern 
astronomer,  bacteriologist,  psycho-physicist,  or  evo- 
lutionist ;  it  is  creative  work. 


CHAPTER  II 
HERBART'S  LIFE  AND  WORKS 

THE  times  in  which  Herbart  and  Pestalozzi  lived 
were  at  once  the  age  of  heroic  speculative  thought  in 
the  universities  and  the  age  of  economic  and  political 
degradation  among  the  common  people.  The  heart  of 
the  reformer,  Pestalozzi,  responded  to  the  one,  the 
mind  of  the  thinker,  Herbart,  to  the  other ;  for  the 
native  forces  of  the  mind  exert  themselves  in  accord- 
ance with  surrounding  intellectual  and  moral  influ- 
ences. Furthermore,  minds  become  fertilized  at  an 
early  age  by  the  spirit  of  the  times.  Lectures  on 
philosophy  were  given  at  the  gymnasium  attended  by 
the  youthful  Herbart,  and  we  find  him  at  the  early 
age  of  fourteen  writing  essays  on  the  moral  freedom 
of  man.  At  the  age  of  eighteen,  when  most  boys  are 
in  these  days  just  entering  upon  their  freshman  work 
in  college,  Herbart  was  a  diligent  student  of  German 
philosophy  under  Fichte  at  Jena.  To  gain  recogni- 
tion, Fichte  had  introduced  himself  to  Kant  at  Konigs- 
berg  by  means  of  an  Essay  toward  a  Critique  of  all 
Revelation,  which  was  for  a  time  ascribed  to  Kant 
himself.  In  a  somewhat  similar  manner,  Herbart 

12 


HERB  ART'S   LIFE   AND   WORKS  13 

attracted  Fichte's  attention,  by  handing  him  essays 
concerning  certain  doubtful  statements  in  the  Science 
of  Knowledge,.  During  his  second  year  at  the  univer- 
sity, he  gave  Fichte  a  critique  of  two  of  Schelling's 
works,  in  which  he  broke  away  from  the  ruling  Ideal- 
ism of  the  times,  and  laid  in  some  measure  the 
groundwork  of  his  own  future  system  of  philosophy. 

John  Frederick  Herbart  was  born  at  Oldenburg  on 
the  4th  of  May,  1776.  He  died  a  professor  at  Got- 
tmgen  in  1841.  His  life-span  reached  over  the 
period  of  great  political  revolutions  and  through  that 
of  the  evolution  of  great  systems  of  thought.  The 
turbulence  of  the  times  does  not  seem  to  have  modi- 
fied essentially  his  course  of  life.  Fichte,  his  teacher, 
was  caught  in  the  grip  of  the  age,  and  besides  being 
the  Idealistic  philosopher  became  the  firebrand  of 
German  patriotism;  but  Herbart  fought  only  the 
spectres  of  the  mind.  His  field  of  labor  was  the 
university  classroom ;  his  companions  were,  not  armed 
soldiers  of  the  camp,  but  spectacled  students  and 
professors  of  the  halls  of  learning.  While  Pestalozzi 
was  dealing  with  the  unkempt  urchins  of  poverty,  and 
Froebel  with  the  children  of  the  kindergarten,  Her- 
bart was  in  the  university  instructing  the  future 
leaders  of  thought.  Herbart's  experience  as  a  teacher 
would  seem  too  small  a  thing  to  mention  —  some  two 
or  three  years  in  a  private  family  in  Switzerland 
with  three  children  aged  respectively  eight,  twelve, 
and  fourteen.  Yet  to  a  man  who  can  see  an  oak  tree 
in  an  acorn,  i.e.,  who  can  understand  all  minds  from 
the  study  of  a  few,  such  an  experience  may  be  most 
fruitful. 


14      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

At  the  close  of  his  university  career,  Herbart,  then 
a  young  man  twenty-one  years  old,  accepted  an  in- 
vitation to  become  tutor  to  the  three  older  children 
of  Herr  von  Steiger,  Governor  of  Interlaken,  Switzer- 
land. The  most  helpful  thing  to  him  about  this  ex- 
perience was  that  he  was  required  to  make  a  written 
bi-monthly  report  to  his  employer  concerning  the 
study,  conduct,  and  progress  of  his  charges.  Five  of 
these  reports  have  been  published ;  nothing  is  known 
of  the  others.  An  extended  biography  would  doubt- 
less warrant  a  careful  analysis  of  these  reports, 
since  they  are  full  of  anticipations  of  the  educational 
ideals  that  Herbart  afterward  elaborated.  Yet,  though 
"coming  events  cast  their  shadows  before,"  a  brief 
exposition  must  content  itself  with  the  essentials  of 
Herbart's  developed  system,  leaving  the  tracing  of 
these  anticipations  to  those  who  have  time  and  incli- 
nation for  the  task. 

After  resigning  his  tutorship  in  Switzerland,  Her- 
bart went  to  Bremen  to  prepare  himself  for  an  aca- 
demic career  in  the  university.  He  stopped  at  Jena 
for  a  time,  and  then  visited  his  parents  at  Oldenburg, 
to  whom  he  showed  his  consideration  by  offering  to 
yield  his  preferences  by  taking  up  the  law.  They 
perceived,  however,  how  much  his  cherished  ideals 
would  be  disturbed  by  such  a  course,  and  generously 
allowed  him  his  own  free  choice.  About  this  time 
his  father  and  mother  separated  on  account  of  domes- 
tic difficulties,  the  latter  settling  in  Paris,  where  she 
died  some  three  years  later.  Being  free  to  continue 
his  chosen  career,  Herbart  now  continued  his  journey 
to  Bremen,  where  he  spent  two  years  more  in  prepa- 


HERBART'S  LIFE   AND   WORKS  15 

ration  for  his  life-work.  Incidentally  he  tutored  a 
young  man  for  the  university,  and  unfolded  his 
pedagogical  ideas  to  some  appreciative  mothers  be- 
longing to  the  higher  ranks  of  society.  He  also 
wrote  several  articles  and  lectures  on  educational 
topics.  Two  of  these  articles,  that  on  Pestalozzi's 
recent  work  —  How  Gertrude  taught  her  Children,1 
and  that  on  Pestalozzi's  Idea  of  an  A  B  C  of  Obser- 
vation,2 gave  a  more  scientific  form  to  the  thought 
of  the  Swiss  reformer.  The  latter  essay  was  after- 
wards extended  by  one  of  Herbart's  most  important 
contributions,  that  on  The  Moral  or  Ethical  Revela- 
tion of  the  World  the  Chief  Function  of  Education,9 
the  most  important  thought  of  which  is  that,  through 
school  experiences,  and  especially  through  instruction 
in  the  common  branches,  the  teacher  can  reveal  the 
world  of  moral  relations  between  the  individual  and 
his  neighbors  on  the  one  hand,  and  organized  society 
on  the  other,  thereby  developing  a  keen  moral  insight 
and  a  right  disposition,  and  insuring  reliable  moral 
habits ;  in  a  word,  developing  strong  moral  character 
in  his  pupils.  Yet  during  his  stay  in  Bremen,  educa- 
tional thought  was  rather  a  recreation  than  a  serious 
labor.  His  chief  efforts  were  expended  upon  Greek 
and  mathematics.  But  the  question  of  means  where- 
with to  live  began  to  press  upon  him,  as  it  has  done 
with  many  another  intellectual  benefactor  to  the 
world. 

1  Pestalozzi's  neueste  Schrift :  Wie  Gertrud  ihre  Kinder  lehrte. 

2  Pestalozzi's  Idee  eines  A  B  C  der  Anschauung. 

8  Ueber  die  asthetische  Darstellung  der  Welt  als  Hauptgeschaft 
der  Erziehung. 


16      HEBBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

As  his  parents  were  convinced  that  philosophy 
would  yield  no  bread,  and  were  filled  with  anxiety 
for  his  future  subsistence,  Herbart  held  it  a  duty  to 
make  no  mention  of  his  needs.  Not  being  able  to  live 
on  air,  however,  he  turned  to  his  friends,  especially 
to  Johann  Schmidt,  with  whom  he  was  living,  and 
they  out  of  personal  regard  and  confidence  so  supplied 
his  wants  that  he  was  able  to  live  in  a  humble  way 
at  Bremen,  and  thence  to  proceed  comfortably  to 
Gottingen.  Here,  however,  his  care  was  increased 
in  a  distressing  manner.  At  Jena  he  had  enjoyed 
good  health,  and  in  Switzerland  he  had  become  very 
robust.  In  stature  he  was  not  above  middle  height ; 
the  upper  portions  of  his  body  were  proportionately 
larger  than  the  lower,  so  that  he  was  more  imposing 
when  sitting  than  when  standing.  He  was  strong 
and  muscular,  his  movements  being  decisive  and  vig- 
orous. But  after  a  long  winter  journey,  in  which  his 
emotions  were  excited  to  the  highest  pitch,  his  health 
began  to  fail.  He  long  suffered  from  the  baleful 
effects  of  the  anxieties  and  over-exertions  arising 
from  his  state  of  poverty.  During  the  first  years  at 
Gottingen  his  health  was  so  shattered  that  he  ex- 
pected every  winter  to  be  his  last.  Yet  in  spite  of 
these  drawbacks,  he  resolutely  pursued  his  course. 
Of  his  academic  studies  in  Bremen  but  little  public 
record  remains.  He  left  with  Schmidt  two  brief  es- 
says upon  Tlie  Difference  between  the  Idealism  of  Kant 
and  that  of  Fichte,  and  A  Critique  of  the  Conception  of 
the  Ego. 

Upon  going  to  Gottingen  he  soon  qualified  as 
privat-docent  in  pedagogy,  not  being  in  touch  with 


HERBARTS   LIFE   AND   WORKS  17 

the  idealistic  philosophy  of  the  day.  Seeking  a  firm 
basis  on  which  to  rest  his  educational  theories,  he 
soon  began  to  lecture  upon  ethics,  or  practical  phi- 
losophy. It  is  said  that  his  lectures  were  so  fine  that 
he  soon  attracted  to  his  class-rooin  the  whole  phil- 
osophical activity  of  the  university.  In  consequence 
of  this  success  he  received  a  call  to  a  full  professor- 
ship at  Heidelberg  in  1805,  which,  however,  he  de- 
clined, though  the  beautiful  spot  greatly  attracted 
him. 

It  is  a  tribute  to  the  earnestness  of  philosophic 
thought  of  those  times  that  it  went  on  vigorously 
under  the  most  depressing  influences  of  war  and  sub- 
jugation. Hegel  finished  his  Phenomenology  of  Spirit 
to  the  thunder  of  cannon  at  Jena,  and  Herbart  out 
of  his  slender  income  was  forced  to  contribute  a  quota 
of  1500  francs  to  the  expenses  of  the  war.  With 
Fichte  the  warmth  of  philosophic  thought  burst  into 
flaming  zeal  for  universal  education  as  the  surest 
means  of  securing  national  freedom. 

During  the  period  of  his  activity  at  Gottingen,  from 
1802  to  1808,  Herbart  published  a  number  of  impor- 
tant works,  the  principal  ones  being :  A  second  edi- 
tion of  the  A  B  C  of  Observation,  in  1804,  to  which 
was  added  The  Moral  Revelation  of  the  World  as  the 
Chief  Function  of  Education.  In  1804,  was  published 
also  Standpoint  for  Judging  Peslalozzi's  Method  of 
Instruction;  in  1806,  he  issued  General  Pedagogics 
(his  chief  work  on  education),  Chief  Points  of  Meta- 
physics, and  Chief  Points  of  Logic.  In  1808  he  finished 
his  General  Practical  Philosophy. 

The  position  to  which  he  had  attained  in  Gottingen 


18      HEKBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

was  that  of  extraordinary,  or  associate,  Professor, 
with  a  salary  of  300  thalers  a  year.  The  alarms  of  war 
and  the  increasing  difficulty  of  providing  sustenance, 
gradually  led  to  a  diminution  of  philosophical  study 
among  the  students.  They  drifted  largely  into  more 
practical  departments,  so  that  when  the  flattering  offer 
of  Kant's  chair  at  Konigsberg,  coupled  with  a  salary 
of  1200  thalers,  came  to  Herbart,  he  was  ready  to 
accept  it.  "  How  happy  I  was,"  he  writes,  "to  receive 
the  offer  of  this,  the  most  renowned  chair  of  philoso- 
phy, the  place  which  when  a  boy  I  longed  for  in 
reverential  dreams,  as  I  studied  the  works  of  the  sage 
of  Konigsberg." 1 

Herbart  removed  to  Konigsberg  during  the  spring 
of  1809,  to  occupy  the  academic  chair  of  Immanuel 
Kant,  which  had  just  been  vacated  by  Krug,  the  latter 
having  accepted  a  call  to  Leipsic.  During  this  year 
Herbart's  father  died.  "  The  latter  had  lived  to  ex- 
perience the  fact  that  not  only  had  philosophy  sup- 
plied his  son  with  bread,  but  that  it  had  yielded  him 
honor  as  well."  In  addition  to  lecturing  upon  phi- 
losophy, Herbart  was  required  also  to  take  charge  of 
pedagogics,  which  had  hitherto  been  cared  for  by 
several  professors,  who  took  turns  in  lecturing  upon 
it.  In  a  short  time  he  became  personally  acquainted 
with  William  von  Hurnboldt,  the  commissioner  of 
education  for  Prussia,  who  soon  appointed  Herbart  a 
member  of  the  school  commission  having  in  charge 
the  interests  of  higher  education.  Opposition  began 
to  arise,  however,  as  soon  as  any  serious  school  reform 

1  Science  of  Education,  see  Felkins'  translation,  p.  16. 


HERBART'S   LIFE   AND   WORKS  19 

was  urged,  the  professors  dividing  into  two  parties, 
the  young  men  being  mostly  for  Herbart,  and  the  older 
professors  (who  enjoyed  certain  prerogatives  not  con- 
sistent with  the  highest  welfare  of  the  schools)  being 
opposed  to  his  ideas.  All  joined  heartily  with  him, 
however,  in  the  establishment  of  a  pedagogical  semi- 
nary connected  with  which  was  to  be  a  practice  school 
in  which  a  few  children  should  be  instructed  accord- 
ing to  the  most  scientific  methods,  and  in  which  the 
students  might  participate  as  instructors  under  critical 
observation.  Twenty  children  was  the  limit  set  for 
the  practice  school,  which  never,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
however,  had  more  than  thirteen  members.  The 
parents  were  required  to  grant  to  the  teachers  the 
general  privileges  of  private  tutors,  and  were  not 
allowed  to  interfere  with  the  instruction,  at  least  for 
one  year.  The  actual  teaching  was  done  by  from  four 
to  six  members  of  the  seminary,  who  at  the  same  time 
received  philosophical  and  educational  instruction  in 
the  university.  The  professor  of  pedagogy  stood  in 
the  most  intimate  relation  to  the  student-teachers, 
directing,  advising,  and  criticising  them.  Should  a 
difference  of  opinion  arise  between  the  professor  and 
the  student  teacher,  the  latter  was  required  to  listen 
to  the  advice  of  the  professor,  but  was  not  bound  to 
follow  it,  provided  he  gave  reasons  for  his  own  view. 
Each  year  the  teacher  was  required  to  write  an  edu- 
cational essay  based  upon  his  own  experience  and 
observation.  This  essay  was  first  handed  to  the  pro- 
fessor of  pedagogics,  who  sent  it  with  his  comments 
to  the  school  commissioners.  The  design  was  that 
these  student-teachers  should  become  superintendents 


20      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

of  educational  institutions  upon  the  completion  of 
their  course.  One  of  these  young  men,  Karl  Volkmar 
Stoy,  afterwards  became  the  leading  exponent  of  one 
school  of  Herbartians  at  Jena,  where  he  long  con- 
ducted a  seminary  and  practice  school  in  accordance 
with  the  plans  instituted  by  Herbart  at  Konigsberg. 
The  same  seminary  is  now  ably  continued  by  Pro- 
fessor William  Kein ;  it  is  the  most  noted  institution 
of  the  kind  in  Germany.  The  seminary  was  fully 
established  in  1810,  Herbart  lecturing  in  the  uni- 
versity four  times  a  week  upon  education. 

In  the  house  in  which  he  lived,  Herbart  made  the 
acquaintance  of  Mary  Drake,  the  eighteen-year-old 
daughter  of  an  English  merchant  who  had  been 
ruined  by  the  war.  Dr.  Bartholomai,  in  his  biog- 
raphy of  Herbart,1  tells  the  following  anecdote  of 
their  first  meeting.  The  company  were  playing  cha- 
rades, when  the  name  Herbart  was  given.  The  first 
syllable  was  described  as  a  man  (Herr  =  Mr.),  the 
second  as  the  ornament  of  a  man  (bart  =  beard),  and 
when  the  whole  was  to  be  characterized,  Mary  Drake 
exclaimed  without  hesitation,  "The  whole  is  the  or- 
nament of  the  university."  Herbart  sought  the  hand 
of  the  young  English  girl,  and  they  were  married. 
Their  union  proved  to  be  a  happy  one,  the  wife  enter- 
ing most  heartily  into  the  plans  and  ambitions  of  her 
husband. 

The  Konigsberg  period  of  Herbart's  activity  was 
most  fruitful  in  published  works.  The  prominence 
of  his  position  gave  occasion  for  numerous  addresses 

1  Biography  of  Herbart,  p.  73. 


HERBART'S   LIFE   AND   WORKS  21 

and  minor  contributions  to  philosophy  and  education, 
many  of  which  were  published.  Outside  of  his  meta- 
physical writings,  his  most  important  work  was  the 
development  of  psychology,  based  anew  upon  meta- 
physics, mathematics,  and  experience.  A  brief  expo- 
sition of  his  psychological  ideas  and  their  significance 
for  teaching,  is  given  in  the  succeeding  chapter.  His 
System  of  Psychology  was  completed  in  1814,  and  his 
Text-book  of  Psychology  in  1816.  The  main  work, 
however,  Psychology  as  a  Science,  did  not  appear  until 
1824—5.  His  General  Metaphysics  was  published  in 
1828  and  1829  in  two  volumes,  and  his  Brief  Cyclo- 
pedia of  Philosophy,  in  1831.  The  best  edition  of  his 
pedagogical  works  is  Willmann's  scholarly  edition  in 
two  volumes  of  about  600  pages  each.  An  English 
translation  of  The  Moral  Revelation  of  the  World  as 
the  Chief  Function  of  Education  and  of  the  General 
Principles  of  Education  (Allgemeine  Padagogik)  has 
been  prepared  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Felkin.1 

Hegel  died  in  1831,  leaving  vacant  a  chair  which 
next  to  Kant's  was  the  most  celebrated  in  Europe. 
Herbart  fondly  hoped  to  be  his  successor,  and,  indeed, 
there  were  not  a  few  voices  raised  in  his  behalf ;  but 
instead  of  the  coveted  position,  he  received  an  Order. 
It  would  have  been  too  much,  however,  for  one  man 
to  occupy  the  vacant  places  of  the  two  greatest 
thinkers  of  modern  times.  Worthily  to  have  suc- 
ceeded one  of  them  should  have  satisfied  any  reason- 
able ambition. 

But  now,  restricted  by  petty  officialism,  and  vexed 

i Boston:  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  1893. 


22      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

by  misrepresentations,  Herbart  determined  to  seek 
work  outside  of  Prussia,  in  which  the  reactionary 
spirit  was  dominant.  When  in  1833,  at  Schultze's 
death,  Gottingen  sought  his  services,  he  gladly  ac- 
cepted the  call.  His  time  was  now  fully  occupied 
in  preparing  and  delivering  University  lectures,  so 
that  his  published  works  were  few.  The  students 
flocked  in  masses  to  hear  him,  often  breaking  out  in 
cheers.  In,  1835  he  issued  Outline  of  Pedagogical 
Lectures,  a  work  that  bears  the  same  relation  to  his 
system  that  Rosenkranz's  Pedagogics  as  a  Science1 
does  to  the  system  of  Hegel. 

On  the  9th  of  August,  1841,  Herbart  gave  his  last 
lecture  with  unimpaired  ability.  Two  days  after- 
wards came  a  stroke  of  apoplexy  that  ended  his  earthly 
career.  His  widow  lived  to  see  the  one  hundredth 
anniversary  of  his  birth.  His  grave  is  in  Gottingen. 
It  is  surrounded  by  a  tall  iron  fence,  inside  of  which 
is  a  cross  bearing  the  following  inscription : 2  — 

"To  penetrate  the  sacred  depths  of  truth, 
To  strive  in  joyful  hope  for  human  weal, 

Was  his  life's  aim. 
Now  his  spirit  free  hath  perfect  light, 

Here  rests  his  mortal  frame." 

1  Philosophy  of  Education,  by  Rosenkranz,  with  explanatory 
Paraphrase  by  Dr.  William  T.  Harris.    New  York :  D.  Appleton  & 
Co.,  1886. 

2  Science  of  Education,  Herbart,  Felkins'  translation,  p.  23. 


CHAPTER  III 

HERBART'S  PSYCHOLOGY 

1.   CURRENT  EDUCATIONAL  PSYCHOLOGY 

IT  is  not  to  the  technique  of  psychology  that  edu- 
cation looks  for  guidance,  but  rather  to  its  point  of 
view  and  its  methods  of  procedure.  The  latter  are 
consequently  the  factors  that  determine  a  teacher's 
professional  interest  in  various  psychological  sys- 
tems. 

American  and  English  ideas  of  education  are  now 
unquestionably  adjusted  to  a  theory  of  mind  that 
regards  our  mental  constitution  from  aggregative 
rather  than  from  organic  standpoints.  The  mind, 
according  to  this  theory,  is  an  aggregation  -  of  facul- 
ties ;  it  is  the  sum  of  what  we  call  sense-perception, 
memory,  imagination,  reason,  feeling,  choice,  volition, 
and  the  like.  Nor  is  it  sufficient  to  reply  that  no  real 
psychologist  to-day  regards  the  mind  as  other  than  a 
unit,  that  these  so-called  faculties  are  merely  conven- 
ient classifications  of  the  methods  according  to  which 
the  mind  works;  for  this  does  not  alter  the  fact 
that  our  educational  literature  as  well  as  our  prac- 

23 


24      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBAKTIANS 

tice,  is  completely  adjusted  to  the  notion  that  the 
mind  is  an  aggregate  of  more  or  less  independent 
faculties. 

In  witness  of  this  assertion,  we  have  the  frequent 
allusion  to  the  training  of  the  faculties,  the  adjust- 
ment of  our  courses  of  study  in  such  a  way  that  the 
various  faculties  will  receive  the  appropriate  subject- 
matter  and  method  of  training,  as  they  appear  one 
by  one  in  the  order  of  their  unfolding.  Accordingly 
we  must  at  first  train  the  senses ;  whence  observation 
in  the  form  of  the  object-lesson  becomes  a  distinct 
department  of  school  work;  then  the  memory  must 
be  trained  by  its  appropriate  exercise,  and  must  have 
a  subject-matter  adapted  to  this  end.  It  is  well, 
therefore,  to  cram  the  mind  with  the  largest  possible 
number  of  facts  in  geography,  history,  and  language, 
it  mattering  little  whether  the  facts  are  concrete  or 
abstract,  related  or  disparate,  interesting  or  stupid, 
since,  forsooth,  they  all  train  the  memory.  By  and 
by,  we  must,  in  accordance  with  this  idea,  teach 
arithmetic  because  it  trains  the  reason,  and  so  on  to 
the  end  of  the  chapter.  That  good  teachers  avoid 
these  extremes  is  due,  not  to  the  merits  of  the  the- 
ory, but  to  the  common  sense  of  the  individual. 
Curiously  enough,  we  have  never  introduced  any- 
thing into  the  curriculum  for  the  discipline  of  the 
will,  though  we  have  made  feeble  attempts  to  train 
the  disposition  and  to  inform  the  understanding  re- 
specting moral  relations  by  teaching  somebody's  ethi- 
cal system. 

Another  natural  result  arising  from  considering 
the  mind  as  an  aggregate  of  faculties  is  our  favorite 


25 

doctrine  of  mental  discipline,  or  formal  culture1  of  the 
intellect.  Carried  to  its  logical  extreme,  this  con- 
ception assumes,  first,  that  the  mind  can  be  well 
trained  with  a  minimum  of  concrete  knowledge ;  and, 
second,  that  the  power  gained  in  one  department  of 
knowledge  may  be  transferred  unimpaired  to  any 
other.  An  extreme  illustration  of  the  first  point 
is  that  if  we  train  the  mind  thoroughly  upon  the 
abstractions  of  Greek  and  Latin  grammar,  and  upon 
those  of  pure  mathematics,  we  shall  sufficiently  culti- 
vate the  faculties ;  that  is,  the  recipe  for  developing 
digestive  power  is  the  chewing  of  rubber,  not  beef- 
steak. The  second  point  is  commonly  urged  in  dis- 
cussions upon  higher  education,  where  it  is  usually 
claimed  that  a  thorough  drill  on  language  and  mathe- 
matics will  develop  a  power  that  can  be  used  with 
like  facility  in  any  department  of  thought  or  in  any 
calling  in  life.  A  contemplation  of  the  ancient  gods 
portrayed  in  Homer  is  just  as  good  a  preparation  for 
dealing  with  the  complex  industrial  forces  of  the 
present,  as  any  concrete  study  of  the  actual  deter- 
mining conditions,  the  argument  being  that  the  power 
developed  by  Greek  is  like  so  much  mechanical  en- 
ergy, which  may  be  made  to  do  one  kind  of  work  as 
well  as  another.  No  one  can  question  the  old-time 
schoolmaster's  faith  in  formal  discipline  as  the  main 
objective  end  of  education,  but  the  world  at  large 
refuses  to  accept  this  view,  evidently  regarding  for- 

1  Dr.  B.  A.  Hinsdale  of  the  University  of  Michigan  has  brought 
American  thought  down  to  date  on  this  suhject  by  his  article  upon 
The  Dogma  of  Formal  Culture,  found  in  the  Educational  Review, 
September,  1894. 


26      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

mal  training  as  a  myth,  or  at  most  as  a  special  prep- 
aration for  a  few  professional  callings.  The  public 
as  a  whole  insist  upon  the  concrete  knowledge  studies 
for  their  children,  and  will  pay  little  for  a  higher 
education  that  has  not  visible  relations  to  the  ac- 
tivities of  life. 

The  fact  that  the  conclusions  of  the  current  edu- 
cational psychology  are  not  in  general  accepted  by 
the  people  or  by  scientific  students  of  education,  is 
sufficient  warrant,  if  one  is  needed,  for  the  exposition 
of  a  method  of  thought  leading  to  radically  different 
educational  results. 

2.   THREEFOLD  BASIS  OF  HERBART'S  PSYCHOLOGY 

Much  of  Herbart's  psychology  is  of  mere  historical 
interest,  while  its  more  fruitful  aspects  have  under- 
gone important  changes  since  his  time.  In  his 
thought,  psychology  has  a  triple  basis,  —  metaphysics, 
mathematics,  and  experience. 

(A.)   Metaphysics — The  Soul  and  its  Ideas 

Of  Herbart's  metaphysical  system,  in  which  the 
soul  as  an  essence  finds  a  place,  we  need  say  but 
little.  The  method  of  thought  is  pre-Kantian,  rather 
than  post-Kantian ;  yet  even  the  metaphysics  of  psy- 
chology has  important  consequences.  The  way  to 
arrive  at  a  sound  philosophy,  Herbart  thought,  is  to 
take  the  common  notions  derived  from  experience 
and  elaborate  them  in  thought  until  all  their  contra- 
dictions disappear.  Thus,  examining  the  ideas  of 
substance  and  quality,  we  have  such  difficulties  as 


HE  HEART'S  PSYCHOLOGY  27 

these :  sugar  is  siveet,  is  white,  is  soluble :  What  is  it 
that  is  sweet  —  the  whiteness,  the  solubility,  the 
weight,  and  the  like  ?  Is  the  substance  the  sum  of 
the  qualities  ?  is  each  quality  a  manifestation  of  the 
sum  of  all  the  qualities  or  of  all  of  them  except 
itself  ?  Or  is  there,  on  the  other  hand,  a  substratum 
that  is  not  quality  or  the  sum  of  qualities  which  yet 
supports  the  qualities  ?  If  so,  what  is  its  nature  ? 
How  must  it  be  thought?  Does  it  occupy  space? 
Is  it,  perhaps,  a  force  or  system  of  forces  ?  is  it  real 
or  ideal  ?  These,  and  many  similar  difficulties,  must 
be  resolved,  if  thought  is  to  be  made  consistent  with 
itself.  Herbart's  method  is  to  make  any  assumption 
whatever  that  will  bring  harmony  and  consistency 
into  our  thinking,  without  regard  to  the  explicability 
of  the  assumptions  themselves. 

Being  free,  therefore,  to  make  any  kind  of  presup- 
position whatever  regarding  the  ultimate  nature  of 
matter  or  mind,  Herbart  constructs  an  unseen  uni- 
verse as  a  metaphysical  explanation  of  the  seen  uni- 
verse that  forms  the  basis  of  our  experience.  From 
Leibnitz  he  takes  the  notion  of  the  monad,  or  the 
metaphysical  atom,  calling  it  a  real,  at  the  same  time, 
however,  depriving  it  of  its  most  fruitful  -principle, 
that  of  self-active  development.  The  monad  has  with 
Leibnitz  no  windows  or  doors  through  which  any  out- 
side influence  can  affect  it,  all  activity,  growth,  and 
development  coming  from  within ;  but  Herbart  makes 
the  monad  single  in  quality,  and  aside  from  a  sort  of 
mechanical  reciprocity  existing  among  the  reals,  capa- 
ble of  but  one  kind  of  activity ;  namely,  the  capacity 
of  self-preservation  against  the  annihilation  with 


28      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

which  other  monads  threaten  it.  The  being  of  the 
universe  is  a  plenum  of  these  monads,  or  reals,  con- 
ceived as  in  partial  interpenetration,  and  in  more  or 
less  mechanical  interaction.  These  monads,  or  reals, 
are  the  noumena  of  which  the  events  of  our  experi- 
ence are  the  phenomena.  As  smoke  points  to  fire, 
even  though  the  latter  is  unseen,  so  the  phenomena 
of  the  universe  point  to  a  metaphysical  substratum, 
which  we  are  not  at  liberty  to  deny  just  because  it  is 
not  seen.  One  does  not  expect,  even  in  the  domain  of 
physical  forces,  that  causes  will  be  like  their  effects. 
They  are  simply  adequate  to  produce  them  ;  conse- 
quently, it  should  not  appear  unthinkable  that  time- 
less and  spaceless  reals  should  produce  the  phenomena 
of  space  and  time. 

The  soul  is  a  monad,  doubtless  indeed  superior  to 
the  myriad  other  monads  with  which  it  is  in  eternal 
interaction.  The  varying  states  into  which  the  soul 
monad  is  thrown  by  its  efforts  at  self-preservation  are 
ideas.  These  conditions  or  states  called  ideas  have 
permanent  existence  in  the  soul.  They  appear  first 
in  consciousness,  but  give  place  one  by  one  to  other 
ideas,  or  acts  of  self-preservation.  Under  favorable 
conditions  they  may  return  again  and  again  to  con- 
sciousness. 

The  one  important  point  to  note  at  present  respect- 
ing this  pre-Kantian  method  of  speculation,  is  that 
there  is  no  room  in  the  soul  for  separate  faculties.  It 
is  not  a  complex,  but  a  simple  in  which  nothing  but 
ideas,  their  relations,  and  interactions  exist.  The  soul 
has  only  ideas,  which  are  its  one  form  of  activity ; 
namely,  its  self-preservation  against  other  reals.  With 


HERB  ART'S  PSYCHOLOGY  29 

this  basis,  Herbart  could  confidently  declare  that  his 
contemporaries  had  turned  psychology  into  mythol- 
ogy, since  they  had  transformed  the  various  typical 
internal  states  of  the  mind  into  objective  existences 
called  faculties.  In  his  thought,  Olympus  with  its 
numerous  independent  gods  became  the  prototype  of 
the  psychology  which  even  to-day  colors  our  educa- 
tional thinking. 

But  it  matters  little  to  us,  and  is  of  small  con- 
sequence for  the  ultimate  validity  of  Herbart's  edu- 
cational notions,  whether  this  supposed  universe  of 
monads,  souls  included,  is  a  sober  reality  or  a  phan- 
tasm conjured  up  by  speculation ;  for  his  system,  after 
all,  depends  not  upon  the  constructions  of  abstract 
speculation,  but  upon  verifiable  facts  of  experience. 

(B. )    Mathematics — Psycho-physics 

If  to  Herbart's  metaphysics  we  can  attribute  only 
indirect  or  remote  influence  upon  psychology  and  edu- 
cation, we  are  justified  in  ascribing  great  fruitfulness 
to  the  remaining  phases  of  his  investigation.  As  be- 
fore stated,  he  sought  to  form  psychology  anew  upon 
metaphysics,  mathematics,  and  experience.  It  is  to 
the  second  of  these  that  we  must  now  turn. 

Though  considered  in  their  primary  significance, 
ideas  are  simply  passive  states,  or  "  self-preservations 
of  the  soul,"  resulting  from  the  influence  of  other 
monads,  yet  ultimately  through  their  relations  to  one 
another  these  ideas  become  forces.  Some  will  fuse, 
or  coalesce,  partially  or  completely;  some  are  an- 
tagonistic, counteracting  or  repelling  one  another; 


30      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

some  are  strong,  some  weak,  and  none  able  to  sustain 
themselves  for  any  considerable  length  of  time  in 
consciousness.  Ideas,  moreover,  become  associated  in 
series  and  complications,  so  that  the  strong  help  the 
weak  to  reproduction,  especially  when  sense-percep- 
tion acts  as  a  stimulus  to  ideas  that  are  below  the 
threshold  of  consciousness.  From  all  these  facts,  as 
well  as  from  the  fact  that  this  mental  movement  per- 
sists, whether  we  will  or  not,  and  largely  according  to 
laws  over  which  we  have  no  control,  Herbart  has  a 
warrant  for  considering  ideas  as  a  system  of  mental 
forces,  whose  statics  and  dynamics  may  be  subjected, 
ideally  at  least,  to  quantitative  determination.  He 
therefore  applies  calculus  to  mental  movement  and 
equilibrium,  which,  if  fanciful  in  itself,  has  at  least 
led  to  important  developments  in  modern  psycho- 
physics  and  physiological  psychology  in  the  hands  of 
such  men  as  Lotze,  Fechner,  Helrnholtz,  and  Wundt.1 

(C.)   Experience  —  Apperception 

But  however  important  for  education  the  quantita- 
tive method  of  psychological  study  may  prove  to  be, 
we  are  not  now  especially  concerned  with  it,  since  the 
specific  impulse  that  Herbart  gave  to  the  theory  and 
practice  of  teaching  in  Germany  has  been  confined  to 
the  remaining  aspect  of  his  psychology ;  namely,  that 
which  is  founded  specifically  upon  experience,  and 
which  has  been  brought  under  the  general  term  apper- 
ception. 

1  A  concise  account  of  the  development  of  psychology  from  the 
quantitative  standpoint  is  found  in  Ribot's  German  Psychology  of 
To-day.  New  York :  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1886. 


HERBART'S   PSYCHOLOGY  31 

That  the  assimilative  functions  of  the  soul  should 
be  the  chief  study  of  a  psychologist  like  Herbart  is  to 
be  expected.  So  slight  an  original  equipment  is  as- 
signed to  the  soul  —  merely  the  capacity  of  self- 
preservation —  that  the  chief  source  of  its  activity 
must  necessarily  be  experience.  The  soul  becomes 
enriched  with  a  content,  not  through  the  development 
of  any  germ-like  faculties,  but  solely  through  the 
growth  of  the  ideas  that  experience  creates  within 
us.  The  attempt  of  the  teacher  to  train  the  mind 
without  imparting  a  thought  content  is  therefore  as 
foolish  as  was  the  attempt  of  the  professor  in  Swift's 
University  of  Lagado  to  extract  sunshine  from  cucum- 
bers. There  is  no  sunshine  in  cucumbers  to  extract ; 
and  even  if  there  were,  it  would  not  repay  the  labor  of 
extraction.  This  thought  is  so  subversive  of  current 
educational  doctrine,  that  it  may  be  worth  while  to 
examine  it  more  closely  in  order  to  see  precisely  what 
validity  it  does  have.  Men  do  not  object. upon  occa- 
sion to  readjust  their  thought,  but  few  are  willing  to 
destroy  an  old  system  merely  for  the  sake  of  construct- 
ing a  new  one. 

To  recognize  the  importance  of  Herbart's  contribu- 
tions to  educational  psychology,  it  is  by  no  means 
necessary  to  accept  his  metaphysical  presuppositions 
as  to  the  nature  and  original  equipment  of  the  soul. 
Because  experience  is  a  matter  of  great,  not  to  say 
supreme,  importance  in  education,  it  does  not  follow 
that  nothing  else  is  true  or  important.  Locke,  indeed, 
declares  that  all  the  furnishing  of  our  minds  has  its 
origin  in  sensation  and  reflection,  which  is  perfectly 
true  as  to  content,  but  not  at  all  true  as  to  original 


32     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

constitution,  unless  much  is  smuggled  in  under  the 
term  reflection.  Had  the  mind  no  original  power  of 
activity  antecedent  to  experience,  one  does  not  see 
why  a  camera  should  not  have  perceptions  as  well  as 
a  mind  has.  Here  is  the  dividing  line  between  the 
investigations  of  Kant  and  Herbart.  Though  both 
assume  to  cover  the  whole  field,  each  really  covers 
only  half.  Kant's  well-known  doctrine  of  appercep- 
tion is  an  investigation  into  the  original  constitution 
of  the  mind,  antecedent  to  all  experience.  His  con- 
stant query  is,  "What  mental  equipment  must  be 
presupposed  in  order  that  perceiving  and  thinking 
and  willing  may  be  possible  ? "  The  content  and 
importance  of  our  perceptions  do  not  enter  into  his 
problem.  Everything  is  viewed  in  its  formal  aspect, 
in  its  validity  as  a  law  of  activity ;  nothing  is  examined 
as  to  its  concrete  worth. 

Herbart,  on  the  other  hand,  neglecting  entirely  the 
constitutive  equipment  of  the  mind,  fixes  his  atten- 
tion solely  on  the  production,  reproduction,  fusion, 
arrest,  and  general  interaction  of  ideas.  While  Kant 
approaches  the  study  of  mind  from  the  critical  a  priori 
standpoint,  Herbart  sees  only  the  concrete  a  posteriori 
side.  Apperception  with  Herbart,  therefore,  is  the 
assimilation  of  ideas  by  means  of  ideas  already  pos- 
sessed, not  the  Kantian  original  synthesizing  power 
of  the  mind. 

So  far  as  the  educational  value  of  Herbart' s  theory 
of  concrete  apperception  is  concerned,  it  is  a  matter  of 
indifference  whether  we  accept  his  notions  or  Kant's 
as  to  our  original  mental  constitution,  for  the  teacher 
has  no  power  to  create  or  to  destroy  these  original 


HERB  ART'S  PSYCHOLOGY  33 

powers ;  he  can  merely  work  with  what  is  given.  He 
must,  in  short,  utilize  old  experience  in  creating  new. 
His  primary  function  is  to  impart  knowledge  in  such 
a  way  that  it  can  be  most  rapidly,  securely,  and  profit- 
ably assimilated,  and  this  is  a  problem  of  concrete  ap- 
perception. Whether  the  mind  be  a  germ  or  a  series 
of  germs  to  be  developed,  or  whether  it  is  a  structure 
to  be  erected,  the  process  is  still  the  same  from  the 
teacher's  standpoint.  He  must  know  something  of 
the  child's  previous  knowledge  and  interests  in  order 
to  utilize  them ;  he  must  select  his  material  of  instruc- 
tion with  respect  to  ultimate  purposes  and  the  pupil's 
comprehending  power;  he  must  arrange  the  subject- 
matter  not  only  with  respect  to  the  pupil's  acquired 
experience,  but  also  with  respect  to  that  which  he  is 
going  to  acquire,  i.e.,  the  studies  must  be  brought 
into  the  best  coordinate  relation  to  one  another ;  and 
he  must  adapt  his  teaching  processes  so  as  to  secure 
the  quickest  apprehension  and  the  longest  retention 
of  the  matter  taught.  All  this  has  to  do  with  the 
acquisition  of  new  experience  upon  the  basis  of  that 
already  acquired.  It  matters  little,  therefore,  whether 
with  Herbart  we  conceive  the  ideas  to  be  psychical 
forces,  or  whether  we  regard  the  mind  itself  as  a  force 
or  system  of  forces  working  upon  the  ideas  as  so  much 
passive  raw  material.  The  two  theories  point  to  the 
same  line  of  practical  activities  for  the  teacher.  The 
advantage  is  on  the  Herbartian  side,  however,  since 
Kant  investigates  that  over  which  education  has  no 
control ;  namely,  the  original  capacities  of  the  mind, 
whereas  Herbart  shows  how  instruction  may  best  sup- 
ply and  utilize  experience.  This  is  precisely  the 


34      HERBAET  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

teacher's  field  of  labor.  Herein  lies  the  significance 
of  the  whole  Herbartian  school  of  educational  theory 
and  practice.  The  Herbartians  examine  all  the  prob- 
lems of  instruction,  school  government,  and  moral 
training,  from  the  standpoint  of  a  concrete  psychol- 
ogy of  actual  experience.  Herbart  laid  the  theoretical 
foundations  ;  his  followers  have  been  and  still  are  en- 
gaged in  constructing  upon  these  foundations  a  self- 
consistent  system  of  educational  practice. 

Only  an  illiberal  mind  would  pretend  to  limit  all 
progress  along  this  line  to  the  tenets  of  Herbart's 
specific  system  of  psychology.  The  point  of  view  is 
alone  important ;  and  this,  though  ascribed  to  an  indi- 
vidual, is  necessarily  universal.  Any  psychology  may 
put  the  emphasis  upon  the  processes  of  knowledge  and 
of  character  growth,  rather  than  upon  logical  presup- 
positions or  unfruitful  distinctions.  By  doing  this  it 
will  acquire  the  essential  merits  of  Herbart's  method, 
retaining,  it  may  be,  all  of  its  own  specific  advantages. 

With  this  general  survey  of  Herbart's  psychology 
in  mind,  we  may  turn  now  to  a  more  specific  account 
of  the  doctrine  of  apperception. 

Every  simple  or  complex  perception  (or  sensation) 
which  enters  consciousness  through  the  gates  of  the 
senses,  acts  as  a  stimulus  upon  the  ideas  possessed  by 
the  mind.  It  repels  everything  contrary  to  it  that 
may  be  in  consciousness,  and  attracts  or  recalls  all 
similar  things,  which  now  rise  with  all  their  connec- 
tions. This  complex  perception  (or  sensation)  in- 
vades several  other  groups  or  series  simultaneously, 
and  thus  induces  new  conditions  of  fusion  or  arrest. 
While  thus  it  causes  a  lively  movement  of  ideas,  it 


HERB  ART'S  PSYCHOLOGY  35 

may  be  compared  to  a  light  casting  its  rays  all  around 
it.  The  stimulated  mass  of  ideas  raised  simultane- 
ously may  be  likened  to  an  arched  vault  extending  in 
all  upward  directions  from  the  centre.  As  long  as 
this  arching  continues,  the  central  perception  has,  by 
virtue  of  its  stimulating  power,  the  controlling  influ- 
ence in  consciousness.  But  the  more  it  checks  less 
similar  ideas,  which  were  called  up  as  opposites,  the 
more  they  recede  and  allow  older,  quite  similar  ideas 
to  rise,  and  gradually  form  the  apex  of  the  arch ;  this 
becomes  the  more  raised  or  pointed  the  longer  the 
entire  process  lasts.  Now  when  a  fusion  takes  place 
between  the  new  perception  (sensation)  and  the  repro- 
duced ideas,  which  stand  high  in  consciousness,  the 
latter  assert  and  usually  maintain  a  controlling  influ- 
ence, or  supremacy.  For,  as  a  general  rule,  the  ideas 
coming  from  within  are,  by  virtue  of  their  established 
connections,  more  potent  than  the  single  new  percept, 
especially  since  the  latter  diminishes  in  power  as  its 
stimulating  effect  subsides.  The  new  perception  takes 
the  place  that  its  relative  importance  demands,  being 
made  an  acquisition  of  the  older  series  of  ideas.  In 
other  words,  the  new  element  of  knowledge  is  adjusted 
into  the  system  of  ideas  already  in  the  mind,  and  is 
thus  assimilated  or  apperceived.1 

Says  Lange:  "The  same  relation  presupposed  be- 
tween sensations  or  percepts  and  older  ideas  may  be 

%  !  Compare  Lange's  Apperception,  pp.  256-7  (Boston :  D.  C.  Heath 
&  Co.,  1893).  This  book,  translated  by  the  Herbart  Club,  contains 
an  excellent  exposition  of  the  nature  and  educational  significance  of 
the  process  of  apperception,  together  with  a  good  historical  account 
of  the  term  as  used  by  Herbart,  Lazarus,  Steinthal,  and  Wundt. 


36      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS. 

repeated  between  the  weaker  and  the  stronger  ideas 
that  reproduction  brings  into  consciousness.  A  weaker 
series  of  ideas,  one  that  is  less  deeply  rooted  within 
the  whole  body  of  thought,  may  be  excited  and  de- 
veloped in  its  own  way  in  the  mind.  Through  its 
stimulating  influence  a  related  mass  of  thought  is 
reproduced,  i.e.,  one  that  is  stronger  and  deeper-lying. 
At  first  the  former,  more  active  series  of  ideas  presses 
back  the  second  series  with  reference  to  its  opposing 
elements.  This  second  series  is  thus  brought  to  a 
tension  and  presses  up  all  the  more  powerfully. 
Now  it  determines  the  first  series  in  accordance  with 
its  own  form,  holding  it  by  its  similar  and  fusing  ele- 
ments, repelling  it  at  other  points."  1 

Herbart  develops  these  ideas  at  length,  and  shows 
moreover  the  conditions  under  which  apperception 
most  readily  takes  place.  His  thought  has  been  much 
extended  and  freed  from  contradictions  by  his  succes- 
sors, notably  Lazarus,  Steinthal,  and  Wundt.  Lazarus 
calls  attention  to  the  importance,  for  apperception,  of 
ideas  of  which  we  may  for  the  time  be  unconscious,  as 
well  as  of  feelings,  interests,  affections,  words,  and 
volitions.  In  doing  this  he  offers  a  valuable  addition 
to  Herbart's  contributions  ;  "  for,  the  forces  that  in 
the  act  of  apperceiving  awaken  and  guide  the  masses 
of  ideas  are  the  secret  powers  of  the  emotional  soul ; 
to  understand  them  means  to  recognize  the  deepest 
motives  and  causes  of  apperception." 2 

Steinthal  further  develops  the  theme,  classifying 
the  various  types  of  apperception  as  follows  : 3  — 

1  Lange's  Apperception,  p.  257.  2  Ibid.  p.  268. 

»  Ibid.  pp.  271,  272. 


HERB  ART'S  PSYCHOLOGY  37 

"  1.  If  the  object  and  subject  of  apperception  are 
perfectly  alike,  that  is,  if  the  impression  corresponds 
to  a  picture  in  the  memory,  both  will  be  fused,  not 
only  with  reference  to  the  cognition,  but  also  with 
reference  to  the  conditions  of  the  mind  under  which 
the  process  takes  place.  This  is  identifying  apper- 
ception. 

"2.  While  at  times  individual  things  are  apper- 
ceived  by  individual  ideas,  at  other  times  the  individual 
is  acquired  by  the  general,  the  idea  of  a  single  being  by 
the  idea  of  the  species,  the  idea  of  the  species  by  the 
class,  order,  and  so  on.  This  classifying  or  subsuming 
apperception  embraces  all  classifying  and  arranging, 
all  proving  and  inferring,  all  aesthetic  and  ethical 
judgment. 

"  3.  Often  a  definite  fact  may  be  classified  among 
certain  ideas  when  one  is  incapable  of  harmonizing  it 
with  related  groups  of  thoughts  that  are  the  seat  of 
lively  emotions  and  desires.  When,  for  instance,  a 
person  whom  we  have  loved  dies,  we  understand  the 
event  well  enough ;  but  we  cannot  reconcile  ourselves 
with  it,  cannot  bring  it  into  harmony  with  the  con- 
dition of  the  soul ;  that  is,  we  cannot  apperceive  it. 
When  at  last  an  adjustment  takes  place  between  the 
opposing  groups  of  ideas,  it  is  not  a  case  of  subordina- 
tion or  superiority,  but  a  case  of  coordination  of  ideas ; 
that  is,  the  proper  relation  is  found  between  coordi- 
nate ideas  or  such  as  belong  to  different  classes.  This 
is  the  object  of  harmonizing  apperception. 

"4.  The  creative  or  formative  apperception,  finally, 
is  found  in  all  those  combinations  on  which  the 
progress  of  science  is  based,  in  the  creations  of  our 


38      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

poets  and  artists,  in  the  thinking  process  of  indue- 
tion  and  deduction,  in  the  guessing  of  riddles,  but 
also  in  illusions  and  hallucinations.  There  is  one 
characteristic  which  is  peculiarly  its  own;  namely, 
that  in  every  case  it  first  creates  the  apperceiving 
factor." 

Wundt's  specific  contribution  to  the  subject  of 
Apperception  is  in  showing  the  function  of  the  will 
in  this  activity. 

Since  there  is  no  need  of  confining  this  account  of 
Apperception  to  the  initial  contribution  made  by 
Herbart,  the  following  general  summary  of  the  pres- 
ent status  of  the  subject  will  be  in  place : 1  (1)  The 
mind  must  possess  an  original,  inherent  power  of  re- 
acting against  the  physical  stimulus  that  comes  to  it 
through  the  medium  of  the  senses,  else  we  should 
never  have  any  experience  at  all. 

The  result  of  this  reaction  is,  ultimately,  the  pro- 
duction of  ideas.  Wundt  calls  this  original  reacting 
power  the  will ;  since  it  is  the  function  of  the  will  to 
manifest  its  activity  in  the  realm  of  ideas,  the  out- 
wardly directed  physical  effort  being  an  accompany- 
ing index.  Hence  we  may  say  that,  in  order  for 
knowledge  to  get  a  start,  the  self,  in  conformity  to 
the  will,  becomes  a  necessary  element  in  every  sen- 
sation, so  that  if  asked,  What  is  a  sensation  apart 
from  all  apperception  ?  we  should  be  compelled  to 
answer,  Nothing  at  all  for  consciousness,  since  with- 
out apperception  we  should  never  have  a  sensation. 
This  first  volitional  response  of  the  mind  to  outward 

1  Compare  the  author's  Essentials  of  Method.  Boston :  D.  C. 
Heath  &  Co.,  1893,  pp.  34-36. 


HERBART'S  PSYCHOLOGY  39 

physical  stimuli  coming  through  the  senses,  and 
resulting  in  sensations  and  ideas,  is  the  primary  or 
initial  form  of  apperception.  It  is  such  because  it 
involves  no  previous  knowledge.  The  phase  of 
apperception  most  important  in  education,  however, 
involves  knowledge,  and  may,  therefore,  be  termed 
the  cognitive  apperception. 

(2)  To  have  sensations  and  ideas,  however,  is  to 
have  what  we  call  consciousness.     This  may  be  viewed 
in  two  ways.    Comparing  it  figuratively  with  the  image 
formed  upon  the  retina  of  the  eye  in  vision,  we  may 
distinguish,  first,  the  whole  field  of  illumination,  and 
second,  the  central  focus  of  light,  from  which  the  illu- 
mination rapidly  diminishes  to  the  periphery  of  the 
image.     If  we  call  all  activity  within  the  field  of  con- 
sciousness perception,  then  the  activity  within  the/ocua 
of  consciousness,  or  the  point  of  greatest  clearness, 
may  be  distinguished  by  the  name  apperception. 

(3)  The  elements  of  mental  life,  as  they  are  pre- 
sented by  the  senses,  have  a  varying  value  in  con- 
sciousness,  those  of  most  subjective  worth  coming 
into  the  focus,  and  others  remaining  in  outlying  por- 
tions of  the  field.     The  primal  activity  of  the  mind 
in  responding  to  these  stimuli  has  been  called  the 
will,  so  that  the  ideas  that  get  into  the  focus  of 
consciousness   must  have    the    greatest    momentary 
worth  to   the  will.      But   that  which  has  value  in 
relation  to  the  will  is  a  motive,  so  that  we  may  speak 
of  the  soliciting  power  that  an  idea  has  for  the  will 
as  its  motive  value.     This  changes  from  moment   to 
moment  and  from  stage  to  stage  in  the  development 
of  the  mind.     What  is  a  strong  motive  to  us  at  one 


40     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

time  or  in  one  condition  ceases  to  be  such  at  another 
time,  or  when  the  state  of  the  mind  has  changed.1 

(4)  It  is  because  the  original  activity  of  the  mind 
in  its  response  to  sense  stimuli  is  conceived  as  will, 
that  it  is  proper  to  regard  the  worth  that  each  idea 
has  for  the  mind  as  a  motive  value.    This  value  is  to 
be  expressed   in   terms  of  feeling,  whether  having 
its    origin  in  the  body  or  in  the  contemplation  of 
intellectual   or  moral  truths.      To  have  the  motive 
value  arising  from  perceived  knowledge  relations,  an 
idea  must  enter  the  field  of  consciousness,  when  it 
may  be  quickly  elevated  into  the  focus,  provided  it 
possesses   enough  motive  value.     This  will  depend, 
not  so  much  upon  its  actual  value  considered  in  itself, 
as  upon  the  subjective  worth  it  has  for  a  mind  that 
is  constantly  changing  its  tone  in  obedience  to  alter- 
ing content  of  consciousness.     We  may  say,  in  general, 
that  the  motive  value  of  an  idea  at  any  given  time 
will  depend  upon  the  worth  the  idea  appears  to  have 
for  the  well-being  of  the  self.      It  may  range  from 
the  satisfaction  of  the  simplest  physical  want  arising 
from  the  bodily  organism,  up  to  the  realization  of  the 
impulses   of  the  self  in  the  loftiest  realms  of  intel- 
lectual and  moral  life. 

(5)  Though  the   mind  through  its  will    activity 
(power  of  "self-preservation,"  Herbart  would  say) 
creates  ideas,  it  does  so  in  obedience  to  stimuli  com- 
ing  from   sources   independent    of   itself.     On  this 
account  the  original  content  of  mental  life  depends 

1  That  this  view  of  the  will  is  not  Herbart's,  will  be  seen  later  in 
the  present  chapter.  It  is  by  no  means  the  Kantian  conception, 
however,  since  it  is  primarily  determined  by  ideas. 


HERBART'S  PSYCHOLOGY  41 

in  large  degree  upon  causes  over  which  the  mind  has 
no  control,  but  it  may  be  said  that  all  ideas  have 
been  more  or  less  perfectly  apperceived  before  they 
are  recognized  as  old  and  familiar.  Recurring  ideas 
that  have  been  apperceived  are  recognized  as  such, 
and  no  longer  command  the  attention  necessary  to 
bring  them  to  the  focus  of  consciousness,  unless  they 
possess  a  motive  value  sufficient  to  call  for  a  more 
complete  apperception.  They,  it  may  be  said,  usually 
constitute  the  main  body  of  ideas  in  the  field  of  con- 
sciousness — they  are  perceptions  which  may,  however, 
be  called  into  the  focus  at  any  moment. 

(6)  New  ideas  entering  consciousness,  whether  occa- 
sioned by  physical  or  psychical  processes,  usually  pos- 
sess a  sufficient  motive  value  to  raise  them  into  the 
apperceiving  centre.  They  can  obtain  significance, 
however,  only  when  they  are  consciously  related  to 
other  ideas.  In  order  to  establish  these  relations,  the 
mind  must  hold  in  the  focus  of  its  attention,  not  only 
the  newly  entering  idea,  but  also  those  to  which  it  is 
to  be  related.  The  impossibility  of  holding  one  of 
two  related  ideas  in  the  focus  of  consciousness,  and 
keeping  the  other  in  the  background  at  the  moment 
of  establishing  the  relation,  seems  to  substantiate  this 
view.  We  may  say,  therefore,  that  in  an  ordinary  act 
of  apperception  the  mind  holds  under  the  focus  of  its 
attention,  not  only  the  new  notion,  but  also  the  other 
ideas  to  which  it  must  be  related  in  order  to  have 
significance. 

One  of  the  most  distinctive  features  of  recent  Her- 
bartian  thought  is  that  all  instruction,  even  in  what 


42  HERB  ART   AND   THE   HERBARTIANS 

we  regard  as  non-moral  subjects,  such  as  science, 
mathematics,  linguistics,  profane  history,  and  litera- 
ture, should  tend  directly  and  powerfully  to  the  forma- 
tion of  moral,  not  to  say  religious,  character.  If  this 
view  has  more  than  a  sentimental  validity,  it  is  worthy 
of  the  most  serious  attention;  for  it  is  evident  to 
every  thoughtful  man  that  our  public  schools  have 
been  intellectualized  beyond  what  is  best  for  the  in- 
dividual, and  the  general  moral  welfare.  In  our  anx- 
iety that  the  schools  should  not  become  sectarianized 
we  have  allowed  them  to  become  secularized  to  an 
unwarrantable  extent.  Nothing,  therefore,  could  be 
more  welcome  to  the  friends  of  public  education,  than 
a  system  of  school  training  that  will  tend  strongly  to 
develop  the  moral  character,  without  having  recourse 
to  conflicting  religious  doctrines.  Such  a  system,  the 
Herbartians  claim  to  offer.  It  remains  for  us  briefly 
to  examine  its  psychological  basis. 

A  logical  consequence  of  our  "  faculty  "  psychology 
is  the  notion  that  the  will  is  potentially  free,  that 
any  man  can  do  as  he  pleases  irrespective  of  circum- 
stances and  education.  This  is  a  convenient  doctrine 
while  we  are  administering  a  criminal  code,  but  it  is 
not  stimulating  to  the  teacher,  either  as  an  induce- 
ment to  try  to  educate  a  child  into  goodness,  or  as  an 
indication  of  his  ability  to  do  so.  The  first  arraign- 
ment that  Herbart  makes  of  Kant's  intelligible  or 
transcendental  freedom,  is  that  a  will  which  is  inde- 
pendent of  experience  except  in  capacity  to  control 
experience,  cannot  be  educated.  If  we  will,  we  will ; 
if  we  won't,  we  won't ;  and  that  is  an  end  of  the  whole 
matter.  The  Bible  injunction,  "Train  up  a  child  in 


HERB  ART'S  PSYCHOLOGY  43 

the  way  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will  not 
depart  from  it,"  has  no  applicability  to  a  will  that 
sits  serene  and  high  above  the  influences  of  space  and 
time.  Transcendental  or  original  and  absolute  free- 
dom of  will  is  accordingly  inconsistent  with  the  idea 
of  moral  education. 

Here  again  we  must  assume  the  judicial  attitude 
and  inquire  into  the  validity  of  these  notions.  While 
Kant,  on  the  one  hand,  was  so  busied  with  a  priori 
phase  of  mind  that  he  took  no  time  to  show  how 
this  potential  moral  freedom  might  become  actual 
through  experience,  or  to  distinguish  sufficiently  be- 
tween the  mechanical  freedom  of  caprice  (which  in 
the  end  is  no  freedom  at  all)  and  that  rational  free- 
dom which  is  founded  on  the  highest  morality ;  so 
Herbart,  on  the  other,  hampered  perhaps  by  his  meta- 
physical presuppositions,  and  engrossed  with  the  a 
posteriori,  or  practical,  side  of  the  problem,  empha- 
sizes solely  the  development  of  character  through  the 
concrete  growth  of  knowledge  and  ideals.  This  again 
is  the  domain  of  the  teacher ;  for  no  more  in  char- 
acter than  in  intellect  does  he  make  or  unmake  the 
original  powers  of  the  soul :  he  can  only  develop  ideals 
through  ideas.  It  is,  therefore,  a  matter  of  indiffer- 
ence to  the  teacher  whether  the  mind  has  this  abso- 
lute freedom  or  not,  since  in  either  event  it  must  have 
the  same  education.  Again  Herbart  has  the  advan- 
tage, as  in  the  intellectual  realm,  for  he  deals  with 
character  as  a  growth. 

Since,  according  to  Herbart,  the  soul  possesses  noth- 
ing but  ideas,  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  explain 
those  states  which  we  call  feeling,  desire,  and  voli- 


44      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

tion  without  the  aid  of  any  innate  mental  machinery. 
Feeling  is  represented  as  arising  from  the  relation  of 
ideas.  "A  feeling  is  the  consciousness  of  a  further- 
ing or  an  arrest  of  the  movement  of  thought :  when 
a  furthering,  a  feeling  of  pleasure ;  when  an  arrest,  a 
feeling  of  pain.  The  life  of  the  soul  is  one  of  ideas ; 
every  furthering  of  them  is  at  the  same  time  a  pro- 
motion of  the  life  activity  of  the  mind ;  every  arrest 
of  ideas  is  also  an  arrest  of  soul  life." l 

"  Desire  is  in  general  a  state  of  mind  which  strives 
to  bring  about  some  other  state  of  mind  not  now  pres- 
ent. It  is  always  directed  toward  some  particular 
object ;  but  of  course  only  the  idea  of  the  object,  not 
the  object  itself,  can  penetrate  to  consciousness  —  not 
gold,  for  instance,  but  the  idea  of  undisturbed  posses- 
sion; not  the  water,  but  the  sensation  of  satisfied 
thirst.  Yet  the  idea  of  the  object  is  already  in  con- 
sciousness when  desired.  He  who  does  not  know  the 
quenching  power  of  water,  or  who  cannot  imagine 
the  pleasure  of  its  possession,  would  never  desire  it. 
Before  possession,  the  idea  is  arrested,  afterward  it  is 
freed  from  arrest.  Impulse  strives,  therefore,  to  shake 
off  the  undesirable  state  of  arrest  from  the  idea  of 
the  desired  object,  and  to  exchange  this  state  for  that 
of  freedom  from  arrest  in  order  to  be  complete  mas- 
ter of  the  object  so  far  as  can  be  through  the  medium 
of  ideas."2 

"  But  desire,  in  accordance  with  its  idea,  seeks  satis- 
faction. If  this  appears  impossible,  the  impulse  re- 
mains mere  wish,  and  has  no  further  significance  ;  but 

1  Lindner,  Empirical  Psychology  (Boston :  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co., 
1889),  p.  170.  2  Lindner,  Ibid.  p.  213. 


HERBART'S   PSYCHOLOGY  45 

if  to  the  desire  there  is  added  a  belief  in  the  attain- 
ability of  the  desired  object,  the  desire  passes  into 
will  and  reveals  itself  in  action  and  deeds.  An  object 
of  desire  is  attainable  when  it  appears  as  the  final 
member  of  a  series  of  changes  which  are  related  as 
cause  and  effect,  the  first  member  of  the  series  pro- 
ceeding from  the  ego  that  wills.  If  such  a  causal 
series  comes  to  the  support  of  any  desire,  the  desire  is 
transformed  into  will;  the  object  is  not  only  desired, 
it  is  willed.  Will  means,  then,  the  desire  for  a  certain 
result  and  the  certainty,  or  at  least  a  belief  in  the 
certainty,  of  its  attainment.  The  impossible  may  be 
willed  as  soon  as  it  appears  to  us  as  possible ;  and  for 
the  same  reason  we  may  desire  without  willing  that 
which  is  really  possible  and  practicable,  so  long  as  we 
are  lacking  in  insight  as  to  ways  and  means  of  reach- 
ing it.  The  clearer  the  insight  as  to  the  attainability 
of  an  object,  the  more  conscious  a  man  is  that  he  can 
attain  what  he  desires,  the  stronger  his  will  is."  1 

According  to  this  view  our  will  activities  are  the 
natural  accompaniments  and  logical  conclusions  of  our 
thinking ;  i.e.,  they  result  from  the  content  and  rela- 
tions of  our  ideas.  Character-building  is  will-training, 
and  this  in  turn  is  the  apperception  of  ideas.  Revers- 
ing the  order,  the  teacher  imparts  ideas  in  such  order 
and  manner  as  to  secure  their  proper  apperception; 
also  so  that  transient  and  permanent  desires  shall 
awaken  from  them,  which  in  turn  seek  their  satis- 
faction in  the  deeds  arising  from  volition.  The  ques- 
tion of  absolute  freedom  is  one  of  metaphysics,  not 

1  Lindner,  Empirical  Psychology,  pp.  238,  239. 


46      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

of  pedagogics.  The  teacher  is  concerned  alone  with 
that  psychological  freedom  whose  development  he  can 
direct  and  stimulate,  if  not  actually  determine.  Fur- 
thermore, since  the  great  mass  of  volitions  that  man 
has  occasion  to  execute  pertain  to  his  relations  to 
nature  and  his  fellow-men  both  as  individuals  and 
as  organized  in  institutions,  it  follows  that  these  voli- 
tions arise  naturally  from  the  ideas  that  the  school 
imparts,  such  as  those  pertaining  to  science,  history, 
literature,  civil  government,  and  economics.  All  that 
need  be  left  to  the  Church  is  the  cultivation  of  adequate 
emotional  and  intellectual  attitude  towards  specific 
systems  of  religious  doctrine.  Subsequent  chapters 
will  show  the  direction  along  which  the  followers 
of  Herbart  have  sought  to  make  all  the  activities  of 
the  schoolroom  focus  in  the  development  of  moral 
character. 


CHAPTER  IV 

HERBART'S    ETHICS  — A  GUIDE  TO  EDUCATIONAL  ENDS 

THE  mere  exposition  of  a  system  of  ethics  might, 
in  a  work  of  this  sort,  prove  to  be  of  small  interest, 
yet  so  great  is  the  emphasis  laid  upon  this  depart- 
ment of  philosophy  as  a  guide  to  teaching,  not  only 
by  Herbart,  but  by  all  his  adherents,  that  any  account 
of  his  educational  contributions  would  be  very  defec- 
tive were  the  subject  passed  over  in  silence.  The 
idea  that  the  deeper  purpose  of  education  is  the 
development  of  moral  character  rather  than  intellec- 
tual acumen  is  by  no  means  new.  Centuries  ago  Soc- 
rates maintained  the  teachableness  of  virtue,  claiming 
that  right  doing  is  the  necessary  result  of  complete 
knowing.  As  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
Herbart  finds  the  roots  of  volition  in  the  ideas  arising 
from  the  various  sources  of  experience.  Moral  insight 
gained  from  a  moral  revelation  of  the  world  as  it  is 
effected,  partly  through  home  experience,  but  chiefly 
through  school  instruction,  may  easily  pass  into  moral 
ideas  through  cultivation  of  a  right  spirit  or  disposi- 
tion. By  means  of  careful  oversight  and  discipline 
tempered  by  love,  moral  ideals  may  become  permanent 

47 


48 

rules  of  action  through  the  formation  of  reliable  moral 
habits.  That  is  to  say,  moral  character  is  a  growth 
arising  from  the  soil  of  experience  as  gained  through 
knowledge  and  social  intercourse,  not  a  mystical  fac- 
ulty born  in  us. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  develop  moral  ideals  and  to 
transform  them  into  rules  of  life  through  a  moral  rev- 
elation of  the  world,  the  teacher  must  have  a  clear 
consciousness  of  the  fundamental  ethical  ideas,  or 
moral  principles,  that  find  their  embodiment  in  con- 
duct. 

Herbart's  theory  of  the  manner  in  which  we  arrive 
at  moral  judgments  may  or  may  not  satisfy  the  mind 
of  the  student ;  yet  this  is  a  matter  of  small  conse- 
quence, for  all  ethical  systems  arrive  at  substantially 
the  same  rules  of  life,  however  varied  the  derivation 
of  these  principles  may  be.  The  important  thing  for 
the  teacher  is  to  see  how  these  ethical  results  can  be 
utilized  in  education  to  secure  moral  insight  and  dis- 
position. To  the  solution  of  this  problem  Herbart 
makes  the  following  contribution  :  — 

Feelings  are  states  of  the  mind  arising  from  the 
relations  of  ideas.  Certain  harmonious  relations  give 
rise  to  inevitable  feelings  of  pleasure,  and  their  oppo- 
sites  give  us  equally  inevitable  feelings  of  displeasure 
or  pain.  From  this  fact  our  moral  judgments  arise, 
just  as  our  judgments  of  harmony  or  discord  in  music 
arise.  We  do  not  ask  why  a  certain  combination  of 
tones  pleases ;  we  decide  that  it  does.  In  the  same 
manner  we  condemn  a  discord.  Morality  necessarily 
has  to  do  with  the  will,  since  only  this  can  be  good  or 
bad.  Herbart  addressed  himself  to  the  task  of  inak- 


HERBARTS   ETHICS  49 

ing  a  final  reduction  of  all  possible  will  relations,  in 
order  thus  to  arrive  at  the  irreducible  moral  or  ethi- 
cal conceptions.  In  this  way  he  arrived  at  five  moral 
ideas,  two  of  which  are  formal  in  their  nature,  and 
three  concrete.  Each  of  the  ideas  is  valid  in  its  indi- 
vidual and  in  its  institutional  aspects ;  that  is,  between 
man  and  man  and  between  the  individual  and  the 
organized  groups  of  society,  such  as  the  family,  the 
school,  the  civil  community,  the  state  or  nation,  and 
the  cooperative  groups  of  business.  The  ideas  in 
detail  are  as  follows :  — 

1.  THE  IDEA  OF  INNER  FREEDOM 

This  idea  arises  from  an  inner  relation  between  our 
deeds  and  our  insight  as  to  what  is  right  or  wrong; 
that  is,  between  volition  and  ideas.  It  is  founded  on 
the  pleasure  arising  from  inner  harmony.  If  the  two 
are  in  accord,  then  the  mind  is  at  peace  with  itself, 
the  conscience  approves.  A  man  who  has  deliber- 
ately acted  in  accordance  with  his  firm  belief  as  to 
what  is  right  is  internally  or  subjectively  free.  His 
conscience  approves,  and  he  is  at  peace  with  himself, 
even  though  at  war  with  others.  The  teacher  rightly 
tries  to  cultivate  the  conscientious  spirit, "but  it  is  no 
less  his  duty  to  inform  the  understanding  as  to  the 
moral  relations  that  are  valid  in  the  world,  and  to 
enlist  the  interests  and  affections  of  the  mind  in 
%  their  behalf. 

2.   THE  IDEA  OF  EFFICIENCY  OF  WILL 

This  idea  also  is  formal,  but  of  great  consequence. 
It  implies,  first,  a  certain  positive  force  of  determine- 


50      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

tion  and  vigor  of  execution.  Everybody  knows  what 
a  weak  will  is,  and  how  hopeless  is  the  ease  of  a  man 
who  cannot  be  counted  upon  to  reduce  his  good  reso- 
lutions to  practice.  The  efficient  will  is  the  strong 
will.  But  it  is  more.  It  must,  also,  be  reasonably 
concentrated  in  its  action;  that  is,  it  must  make  all 
its  efforts  work  together  for  the  accomplishment  of 
leading  purposes.  All  this,  however,  is  purely  formal, 
and  holds  of  evil  as  well  as  of  good  men.  No  man 
can  be  positively  bad  whose  will  is  not  strong  and 
concentrated.  A  truly  efficient  will,  however,  must 
be  consistent  in  its  main  lines  of  action,  and  to  be 
consistent  it  must  be  right;  for  deeds  that  are  consis- 
tently evil  are  wholly  self-destructive  in  the  end, 
whilst  there  can  be  no  idea  of  really  efficient  voli- 
tional life  where  one  action  contradicts  its  fellow, 
as  must  be  the  case  where  one's  deeds  are  partly 
right  and  partly  wrong.  It  appears  to  follow,  there- 
fore, that  to  be  truly  efficient  one's  will  must  be 
strong,  concentrated,  and  consistent  with  the  real 
ethical  order  of  the  world.  But  even  granting  that 
a  will  cannot  be  efficient  that  is  not  rightly  directed, 
the  fact  still  remains  that  this  principle  is  purely 
formal,  since  it  throws  no  light  on  what  is  right  or 
wrong.  The  basis  of  this  idea  is  the  pleasure  we 
have  in  the  perfection  of  power. 

3.   THE  IDEA  OF  GOOD-WILL 

It  is  the  natural  impulse  of  each  individual  to  make 
himself  the  end  and  center  of  all  that  he  comes  in 
contact  with,  to  make  himself  the  master  to  which 


HERBART'S  ETHICS  51 

everything  else  must  be  subordinate.  This  is  a  nat- 
ural impulse,  because  each  self  is  in  reality  the  center 
to  which  all  its  own  mental  experiences  must  be 
related.  But  this  same  experience  soon  teaches  him 
that  there  are  other  selves  with  claims  equal  to  his 
own,  and  that  if  he  would  have  his  own  selfhood  re- 
spected, he  must  respect  that  of  others.  There  thus 
arises  practically  in  the  world  the  idea  that  Chris- 
tianity calls  Good-ivill.  It  is  that  state  of  mind  in 
which  the  validity  of  a  foreign  ego  is  recognized,  or 
in  which  the  good  of  another  is  willed  as  if  for  self. 
Its  opposite  is  ill-will,  a  feeling  whose  impulse  is  to 
injure  or  destroy  or  subordinate  a  foreign  ego.  Good- 
will is  the  key  to  a  long  list  of  virtues,  such  as  kind- 
ness, benevolence,  charity,  fidelity,  goodness,  generos- 
ity ;  while  its  opposite,  ill-will,  gives  rise  to  an  equally 
extended  list  of  faults.  Exercise  of  the  virtues  of 
good-will  pleases  us  unconditionally,  while  a  manifes- 
tation of  their  opposite  meets  our  unquestioning  dis- 
approbation. 

4.    THE  IDEA  OF  JUSTICE,  OR  PREVENTION  OF  STRIFE 

The  idea  is  founded  on  our  natural  displeasure  in 
contention.  It  comes  to  light  when  two  individuals 
strive  for  the  possession  of  that  which,  in  the  nature 
of  the  case,  only  one  of  them  can  have.  It  is  the  idea 
of  rights,  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  most  of  our  laws 
regarding  property.  A  large  part  of  the  judicial  sys- 
tem of  every  country  is  devoted  to  the  securing  of 
justice  in  the  acquisition,  possession,  and  disposition  of 
wealth. 


52      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

5.  THE  IDEA  or  EQUITY  OR  REQUITAL 

This  idea  arises  whenever  existing  will-relations  are 
altered  either  for  good  or  bad.  It  is  the  notion  of  re- 
quital for  good  or  bad  actions,  and  it  demands  that 
the  requital  shall  be  adequate  to  the  deed.  This  idea 
is  the  basis  of  the  system  of  rewards,  and  especially 
of  punishments,  that  society  has  gradually  evolved. 
Institutionalism  takes  the  requital  of  evil  deeds  out  of 
the  hands  of  the  injured  person,  and  places  it  in  those 
of  the  state.  The  effect  is  to  ward  off  from  others  the 
blow  of  the  evil-doer,  making  it  return  upon  his  own 
head.  This  conception  is  expressed  in  Michael  An- 
gelo's  Last  Judgment,  where  each  shows  by  his  looks 
that  he  is  but  facing  the  result  of  his  own  deeds, 
which  carry  their  own  requital  with  them. 

Such,  Herbart  thought,  are  the  root-ideas  of  moral 
life.  It  is  the  business  of  education  to  keep  them  in 
touch  with  instruction  throughout  its  course,  to  make 
them  the  guide  to  social  intercourse,  and  the  disci- 
plinary requirements  of  the  school.  In  this  way  the 
child  may  reap  the  benefit  of  the  accumulated  experi- 
ence of  the  past,  just  as  he  inherits  the  wealth  stored 
up  by  his  immediate  ancestors.  In  the  impression- 
able years  of  childhood  and  youth,  while  the  heart  is 
tender,  the  imagination  vivid,  and  the  apprehension 
quick,  it  is  possible  so  to  enlist  these  faculties  that 
the  moral  victory  may  be  won  before  the  real  battle  is 
fought.  We  do  not  hesitate  to  have  the  child  enter 
into  the  inheritance  that  the  past  has  left  us  in  knowl- 
edge. No  child  is  asked  to  start  a  thousand  years 
behind  his  time  in  any  great  field  of  human  endeavor. 


HERBART'S   ETHICS  53 

Our  children  now  accept  the  electric  light  as  freely  as 
our  grandfathers  did  the  oil  lamp  or  the  tallow  candle. 
The  same  is  true  in  every  realm  of  science  and  practi- 
cal life.  We  seize  the  advantage  gained,  and  go  on 
to  new  conquests.  Why  should  it  be  otherwise  in  the 
moral  world  ?  Why  may  not  the  bitter  lessons  of  the 
past  in  the  struggle  with  ethical  principles  be  turned 
quite  as  fully  to  account  as  the  results  in  the  intellect- 
ual world  ?  What  a  weary  round  of  scourgings  the 
race  has  gone  through  to  arrive  at  its  present  state  of 
material,  political,  and  moral  freedom !  The  child  is 
born  now,  as  ever,  with  all  his  experiences  before  him. 
Must  he,  for  want  of  proper  education,  retrace  the 
thorny  path  of  his  forefathers  ?  We  do  not  ask  it 
with  regard  to  his  material  or  intellectual  welfare. 
Why  should  we  with  the  moral  ? 

Not  only  do  the  five  ethical  ideas  pertain  to  individ- 
uals as  such,  but  as  we  have  seen  they  have  also  an 
institutional  bearing.  Thus  the  fifth  idea,  that  of 
equity,  gives  rise  in  society  to  a  system  of  rewards  of 
a  negative  kind ;  that  is,  punishments  for  the  disturb- 
ance of  ethical  balance.  If  a  rich  man  offers  the  life- 
guard a  nickel  for  rescuing  him  from  the  ocean 
breakers,  our  moral  sense  is  outraged,  but  the  law 
inflicts  no  penalty ;  but  if  one  person  defrauds  another 
of  property  or  of  some  personal  right  legally  his  due, 
then  the  law  prescribes  penalties.  On  behalf  of  the 
idea,  Justice,  society  institutes  a  legal  code,  together 
with  a  legal  machinery  for  the  hindrance  of  strife. 
The  business  of  the  lawyer  should  be  as  much  the  pre- 
vention of  contention  as  the  establishment  of  equity. 
Furthermore,  in  order  to  realize  the  idea  of  Good-will 


54      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 


in  its  institutional  aspects,  society  organizes  a  systenj 
of  administration  aimed  at  the  greatest  possible  good 
of  all.  To  make  all  wills  efficient  so  far  as  may  be,  soci- 
ety sustains  a  system  of  culture  in  its  schools,  colleges, 
and  universities  aimed  at  the  greatest  possible  power 
and  efficiency.  Finally,  the  idea  of  inner  freedom  in 
the  large  sense  involves  the  conception  of  the  state  as 
a  personality  having  a  volition,  or  power  of  acting, 
and  a  constitution,  together  with  its  accompanying 
statutes.  As  an  individual,  the  state  is  free  when  its 
actions  and  its  laws  are  in  harmony ;  progress  is  se- 
cured by  the  gradual  change  of  fundamental  or  statute 
law  through  legislation.  When  the  legal  status  of 
the  nation  collides  with  the  ethical  ideas  that  rule 
the  individual  (slavery,  for  instance,  compelled  men  to 
refrain  from  natural  impulses  of  good-will,  as  in 
obeying  the  fugitive  slave  law),  then  a  conflict  arises 
between  the  conscience  of  the  individual  and  the  con- 
stitution of  the  state.  This  discord  continues  until 
the  conscience  is  seared  or  the  constitution  altered. 

Grasping  the  ideas  together  in  their  individual  and 
in  their  institutional  bearings,  we  have  for  the  indi- 
vidual the  conception  of  virtue.  Virtue,  therefore, 
involves  goodness,  clear  conscience,  efficiency  of  will, 
justice  and  equity  in  private  and  in  public  life. 

There  is  a  double  reason  why  Herbart's  thought  of 
moral  training  is  important  for  us.  In  the  first  place, 
the  public  schools  are  debarred  from  any  sectarian  use 
of  the  Bible  as  well  as  from  all  religious  ceremonial, 
because  of  the  simple  fact  that  these  schools  are 
for  all  sects.  It  is,  therefore,  practically  impossible 
for  them  to  make  distinctively  religious  doctrine  the 


HERBART'S   ETHICS  55 

basis  of  their  moral  training,  however  desirable  such 
a  procedure  may  be  deemed.  In  the  next  place,  it 
should  be  recognized  that  the  moral  problem  in  its 
concrete  filling  changes  from  age  to  age.  The  Golden 
Rule  has  indeed  eternal  validity,  but  the  deeds  that  I 
would  that  my  neighbor  should  do  to  me  differ  with 
the  changing  ideals  of  different  ages.  Furthermore, 
ideals  of  morality  arising  from  the  relations  of  indi- 
viduals to  society  as  grouped  into  civil,  social,  educa- 
tional, charitable,  and  family  organizations  are  sub- 
ject to  still  wider  variations.  In  ancient  Greece,  moral 
conceptions  were  focussed  about  the  art  ideal.  In 
Home,  the  boys  were  taught  to  swim  (that  the  Roman 
armies  might  not  be  stopped  by  rivers)  and  to  know  the 
table  of  the  laws.  Thus  virtue  was  first  aesthetic,  then 
military  and  civil  in  its  essence.  During  the  Middle 
Ages,  when  the  Church  was  both  the  spiritual  and  the 
temporal  power  that  ruled  the  world,  morality  neces- 
sarily fused  with  the  religious  idea,  hence  obedience 
to  church  authority  and  strict  conformity  to  her  or- 
dained ceremonial  was  naturally  esteemed  the  basis  of 
moral  character.  In  our  own  age,  however,  science 
and  political  evolution  have  changed  the  point  of  view. 
In  theory,  at  least,  every  individual  has  political 
freedom  and  equality.  All  are  alike  in  the  liberty  to 
influence  the  social,  educational,  economic,  and  polit- 
ical policy  of  the  nation.  Science  has  at  the  same 
time  made  it  possible  for  many  more  people  to  live 
much  better.  Not  only  are  larger  populations  now 
possible,  but  public  hygiene  and  medical  science  enable 
even  the  feeble  to  survive ;  civil  equality  has  raised 
the  demand  for  universal  education,  and  this  in  turn 


56      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

lifts  the  ideals  of  the  people  as  to  what  belongs  of 
right  to  human  existence  —  a  high  standard  of  life  — 
good,  wholesome  food  —  decent  shelter  and  clothing  — 
and  some  leisure.  The  scholar  has  long  been  able  to 
make  his  recreations  conduce  to  the  vigor  of  his  body  ; 
the  laborer  now  demands  leisure  to  make  his  recreations 
contribute  to  the  cultivation  of  his  mind.  In  spite, 
therefore,  of  the  fact  that  there  is  much  in  morality 
that  is  unchanging  and  eternal,  the  emphasis,  perpet- 
ually changing,  is  now  economic,  social,  and  civil,  as  it 
was  once  aesthetic,  then  military,  then  ecclesiastical. 
Who  that  contemplates  modern  society  with  its  few 
masters  and  many  men,  its  concentration  of  capital 
and  division  of  labor,  its  strikes,  its  lockouts,  its 
bloody  encounters,  and  its  systems  of  arbitrations,  can 
doubt  that  the  institutional  phases  of  morality  are 
different  from  what  they  were  in  the  past  ?  Universal 
political  liberty  has  also  brought  new  problems,  which 
in  our  great  cities  are  sharply  accented,  while  the 
advancing  moral  sense  of  the  people  reveals  in  new 
light  the  bane  of  intemperance  and  social  impurity. 
With  this  prohibition  of  the  use  of  religious  doctrine 
as  the  basis  of  moral  teaching,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  growing  importance  of  what  we  may  term  public 
or  institutional  morality  on  the  other,  we  may  the 
more  warmly  welcome  the  thought  of  Herbart  that 
school  discipline  and  instruction  in  the  common 
branches,  if  illumined  by  the  fundamental  moral 
ideas,  may  be  the  adequate  means  for  developing 
moral  character.  The  thought  that  there  may  thus 
be  a  moral  revelation  of  the  world  to  the  child  through 
discipline  and  instruction  in  the  school  will  be  more 
fully  exemplified  in  subsequent  chapters. 


CHAPTER   V 

THE  DOCTRINE   OF  INTEREST  — ITS  BEARING  UPON 
KNOWLEDGE  AND  VOLITION 

A  COMPLETE  chapter  on  the  subject  of  Interest 
would  be  an  exposition  of  the  greater  part  of  Her- 
bart's  theory  of  instruction.  Indeed,  the  caption 
Many-sided  Interest  is  used  throughout  his  discussion 
of  that  topic.  Ziller  in  his  Grundlegung  devotes 
two  hundred  and  nine  pages  to  an  elaboration  of  the 
educational  significance  of  the  idea.  All  Herbartian 
writers  attach  great  importance  to  the  subject,  for 
reasons  which  will  now  be.  briefly  stated. 

The  Herbartian  psychology  rejects  as  a  pure  myth 
the  idea  that  there  is  in  the  human  mind  any  inde- 
pendent, or  transcendental,  faculty  whose  function  is 
to  will,  and  which  is  free  in  the  sense  4;hat  it  can 
originate  actions  that  are  independent  of  all  ideas  or 
of  thought  processes.  On  the  contrary,  with  Herbart's 
system,  volition  is  strictly  dependent  upon  ideas,  —  a 
product  of  them  either  as  they  originally  appeared 
in  the  mind,  or  as  they  have  come  to  be  through 
repeated  returns  to  consciousness.  Ideas  become 
adjusted  into  apperceiving  masses,  with  which  are 
associated  interests,  desires,  and  volitions.  A  volition 

57 


58      HEKBART  AND  THE  HERBAETIANS 

is  therefore  only  an  idea  which  has  passed  through 
a  complete  development,  of  which  interest  is  an  essen- 
tial stage.  That  being  the  case,  it  becomes  of  the 
greatest  importance  that  the  child  should  conceive  an 
inherent,  abiding,  and  growing  interest  in  the  subject- 
matter  through  which  instruction  is  expected  to  fur- 
nish a  moral  revelation  of  the  world.  Unless  the 
teacher  can  succeed  in  exciting  such  an  interest,  he 
cannot  make  knowledge  yield  more  than  an  intel- 
lectual theoretical  morality,  which  is  perhaps  little 
better  than  none.  The  teacher  desires  that  ideas  of 
virtue  should  develop  into  ideals  of  conduct ;  he  hopes 
that  the  heart  will  be  warmed  for  these  ideals  ;  but  of 
such  a  consummation  there  is  small  prospect  so  long 
as  the  child  regards  the  content  of  his  studies  with 
indifference,  it  may  be  with  aversion.  Instruction 
cannot,  therefore,  remain  a  dry,  perfunctory  drill 
upon  forms  of  knowledge  and  accomplish  its  highest 
mission.  We  see  now  why  all  Herbartians  make  so 
much  of  apperception,  or  the  assimilation  of  ideas 
through  ideas ;  why  they  insist  that  the  subject-matter 
shall  be  selected,  arranged,  articulated,  and  presented 
in  strict  accordance  with  the  stores  and  processes  of 
the  children's  minds.  Only  in  this  way  can  knowl- 
edge become  rich  in  meaning  to  the  pupil,  revealing 
ever-widening  relations  to  life  and  conduct. 

We  often  conceive  of  interest  in  study  merely  as  a 
means  for  securing  attention  to  lessons,  hoping  that 
the  knowledge  will  remain  after  the  interest  has 
departed;  whereas,  the  other  conception  is  that 
through  a  proper  presentation  of  the  right  amount  of 
knowledge  in  the  best  manner  and  at  the  right  time, 


THE   DOCTRINE   OF  INTEREST  59 

we  may  incite  an  interest  that  will  abide  even  after 
the  knowledge  has  faded  from  the  mind.  Each  of 
these  conceptions  of  interest  has  a  certain  validity, 
but  the  latter  goes  much  deeper;  it  is  one  of  the 
abiding  results  that  instruction  should  reach.  A 
harmoniously  developed,  many-sided  interest  of  this 
sort  is,  on  the  one  hand,  a  sort  of  graduated  scale  by 
which  we  may  measure  the  success  of  our  efforts  as 
educational  artists;  and,  on  the  other,  the  grand 
initial  stage  in  the  formation  of  moral  character 
through  the  development  of  ideals,  the  cultivation  of 
moral  disposition,  and  the  acquisition  of  moral  habits. 
We  see  a  new  reason  for  rejecting  the  doctrine  of 
formal  culture  of  the  mind  as  a  desirable  educational 
process.  The  moral  world  is  not  fully  revealed 
through  language  and  mathemetics,  even  when  these 
are  as  concrete  as  possible,  much  less  when  they  are 
formal  and  abstract. 

The  following  quotation  from  Kern1  shows  that 
interest  is  regarded,  not  alone  from  the  standpoint  of 
temporary  expediency,  but  from  that  of  its  bearing 
upon  the  future  of  the  individual :  "  In  a  many-sided 
interest  the  pupil  should  find  a  moral  support  and 
protection  against  the  servitude  that  springs  from 
the  rule  of  desire  and  passion.  It  should  protect 
him  from  the  errors  that  are  the  consequence  of  idle- 
ness ;  it  should  arm  him  against  the  fitful  chances 
of  fortune;  it  should  make  life  again  valuable  and 
desirable  even  when  a  cruel  fate  has  robbed  it  of 
its  most  cherished  object ;  it  should  enable  one  to  find 

1Kern,  Grundriss  der  Pddagogik,  12. 


60      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

a  new  calling  when  driven  from  the  old ;  it  should 
elevate  him  to  a  standpoint  from  which  the  goods 
and  successes  of  earthly  striving  appear  as  accidental, 
by  which  his  real  self  is  not  affected,  and  above  which 
the  moral  character  stands  free  and  sublime." 

That  the  subject  of  interest  should  be  regarded 
specifically  also,  Herbart  divided  the  various  kinds  of 
interests  into  two  groups  or  classes ;  namely,  (a)  in- 
terests arising  from  knowledge,  and  (6)  interests 
arising  from  intercourse  with  others,  as  in  the  family, 
the  school,  the  church,  the  civil  community,  society. 

(A.)    INTERESTS  FROM  KNOWLEDGE 

Of  interest  as  related  to  knowledge,  we  may  dis- 
tinguish the  following  phases  :  — 

1.  The  empirical  interest,  or  the  pleasure  excited 
in  the  mind  by  the  changes  and  novelty  that  arise 
from  a  presentation  of  the  manifold  and  variegated. 
Wonder  is  one  of  its  manifestations,  and  is,  as  Plato 
long  ago  told  us,  the  starting-point  of  knowledge. 
The  exciting  of  empirical  interest  is,  therefore,  the 
beginning  of  education ;  it  explains  many  of  the 
devices  of  the  kindergarten,  and  most  of  the  concrete 
objective  work  of  the  primary  school.  A  large  part 
of  the  devices  regarded  as  methods  of  teaching  are 
invented  to  catch  the  wandering  attention  of  the 
children  until  it  can  be  fixed  on  more  serious  things. 
These  devices  are  perfectly  legitimate,  and  even 
necessary,  unless,  passing  their  proper  limit,  they 
become  hysterical  or  sensational.  One  sometimes 
finds  schools  in  which  the  children  will  ignore  every- 


THE   DOCTRINE   OF  INTEREST  Cl 

thing  but  the  most  dramatic  efforts  to  attract  their 
attention,  and  will  give  but  transient  heed  even  to 
these.  That  every  earnest  purpose  of  education  is 
thereby  destroyed  at  least  for  the  time  being  is  self- 
evident. 

2.  The  speculative  interest,  or  the  search  for  the 
causal  connection  of  things  to  which  the  dark,  or 
problematical,  or  mysterious  impels  the  mind.1  "  He 
who  rejoices  upon  looking  into  the  starry  heavens 
has  the  empirical  interest ;  he  who  reflects  upon  the 
conditions  of  stellar  origin  has  the  speculative  inter- 
est." It  is  the  speculative  interest  to  which  we  ap- 
peal when  we  teach  pupils  to  perceive  the  reasons  of 
things ;  when  we  lead  them  to  look  beyond  the  facts 
to  the  laws  that  unify  them,  and  make  them  appear 
in  their  rational  connection.  This  interest  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  for  education.  Its  beginnings  are 
found  in  very  young  children,  and  not  until  a  mind 
has  become  atrophied  by  age  or  occupation  or  bad 
teaching  does  it  cease  to  be  the  mainspring  of  intel- 
lectual life.  So  long  as  spontaneity  remains,  the 
causal  and  other  rational  relations  of  things  will  be 
sought.  It  is  in  the  discovering  of  these  relations 
that  thinking  chiefly  consists.  It  needs  no  argument, 
therefore,  to  demonstrate  that  an  interest  so  vital  to 
mental  vigor  should  be  developed  to  the  fullest  ex- 
tent by  the  teacher.  The  man  is  intellectually  dead 
whose  mind  is  not  continually  challenged  to  investi- 
gation, who  like  the  stolid  ox  plods  on,  unmindful  of 
all  that  does  not  promise  to  minister  directly  to  his 

1  Ufer,  Introduction  to  the  Pedagogy  of  Herbart,  translated  by 
J.  C.  Zinser.    Boston :  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  1894. 


62      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

physical  profit.  How  can  a  man  be  a  good  citizen 
who  cares  nothing  for  the  causes  that  produce  mis- 
rule in  the  land  ?  How  can  he  be  a  useful  brother 
who  cares  nothing  for  the  social  and  economic  forces 
that  produce  weal  or  woe  to  his  fellows  ?  What 
to  him  are  railroads,  steamships,  telegraphs,  news- 
papers, and  all  the  great  instruments  of  industry,  if 
he  is  not  stimulated  by  their  presence  to  investigate 
their  function  ?  The  Macbeths  of  the  mind  are  those 
who  silence  its  cry  for  the  knowledge  of  origin  and 
causes.  The  speculative  interest  is  the  gateway  to 
all  progress  that  rests  on  the  apprehension  of  logical 
relations. 

3.  The  aesthetic  interest,  or  that  which  is  aroused 
not  by  the  manifoldness  and  variety  of  things  or  their 
causal  relations,  but  the  contemplation  of  an  ideal 
through  a  sense  medium,  as,  for  instance,  the  charac- 
ter of  Moses  (an  ideal)  through  Michael  Angelo's 
statue  of  him  (made  of  marble).  It  is  the  interest 
aroused  by  the  beautiful  in  nature,  in  art,  or  in 
morals.  In  the  case  of  moral  beauty,  an  ideal  is 
manifested,  not  through  stone  or  canvas,  but  by 
means  of  conduct — action.  This  interest  — a  passion- 
ate one  with  most  persons  of  some  races,  and  with 
some  persons  among  all  races  —  is  often  neglected 
through  contempt  for  its  utility  or  fear  of  its  in- 
fluence. That  art  has  sometimes  been  debased  to 
ignoble  uses  is  no  more  an  argument  for  its  neg- 
lect, than  the  fact  that  religion  has  often  been  used 
to  inflame  hatred  is  a  reason  for  its  abandonment. 
The  soul  has  a  right  to  symmetrical  development; 
but  this  it  cannot  have  if  a  part  of  its  natural  inter- 


THE    DOCTRINE   OF   INTEREST  63 

ests  are  ignored.  It  must  therefore  be  asserted,  in 
spite  of  Puritan  teaching  to  the  contrary,  that  the 
aesthetic  sense  of  the  children  must  be  cultivated  as 
the  source  of  much  pure  joy.  The  time  should  come 
when  even  the  artisan  will  be  an  artist  in  his  work, 
when  beauty  will  be  everywhere  a  sweetener  of  life. 
To  these  ends,  as  well  as  to  the  idea  of  beauty  as  an 
end  in  itself,  the  teacher  must  turn  a  part  of  his 
attention. 

(B.)  INTERESTS  ARISING  FROM  ASSOCIATION  WITH 
OTHERS 

Of  the  interests  arising  from  human  relations,  the 
following  points  may  be  distinguished :  — 

1.  The  sympathetic  interest,  or  that  which  is 
aroused  by  the  joy  or  sorrow  of  others.  The  culti- 
vation of  this  species  of  interest  should  begin  in 
the  family,  though  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  very 
frequently  repressed  by  a  collision  of  selfish  wills, 
giving  rise  to  all  sorts  of  bickerings  and  petty  heart- 
burnings. It  often  happens,  therefore,  that  children 
first  learn  in  the  kindergarten  what  satisfaction  there 
is  in  the  spirit  of  cooperation.  Miss  Harrison  of 
Chicago  relates  an  incident  of  a  pretty- young  miss 
who  came  to  the  kindergarten  dressed  in  silks  and 
spangles.  The  children  began  a  play  in  which  the 
girls  were  to  represent  the  housewives  and  the  boys 
the  out-of-door  laborers.  When  the  part  of  prepar- 
ing dinner  for  Tommy  came  to  the  new  pupil,  she 
flung  herself  into  a  chair  with  many  airs,  saying, 
"  My  mamma  doesn't  get  dinner ;  she  leaves  that  for 
the  servants."  "Very  well,"  said  the  teacher,  "we 


64      HERBAKT  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

will  excuse  you,  if  you  like."  The  play  went  on  with 
much  pleasure  to  all  except  the  little  girl  in  silks, 
who  sat  debarred  from  all  the  fun.  The  next  day 
she  dismissed  her  foolish  pride,  and,  after  that,  en- 
tered heartily  into  all  the  occupations  of  the  kinder- 
garten. The  school,  too,  has  constant  opportunity  to 
develop  the  spirit  of  brotherly  kindness,  ideally  in 
such  studies  as  literature,  history,  zoology;  really  in 
the  daily  intercourse  of  the  pupils. 

If  this  feeling  of  individual  sympathy  is  extended 
by  a  knowledge  of  the  wider  relations  of  society  into 
feelings  respecting  the  welfare  of  large  numbers,  we 
have : — 

2.  The  social  interest.  It  is  in  laying  the  founda- 
tions for  this  species  of  interest  that  the  kindergarten 
is  preeminent.  Its  games,  plays,  songs,  occupations, 
involving  the  cooperation  of  all  the  members,  are 
an  ideal  epitome  of  social  cooperation  in  its  highest 
form.  The  school  should  continue  to  develop  the 
spirit  so  admirably  generated  in  the  kindergarten,  for 
out  of  these  beginnings  grow  the  great  institutional 
interests  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  It  lies  at  the 
basis  of  public  spirit,  charity,  public  reform,  patriot- 
ism, commercial  reciprocity,  and  their  kindred  virtues. 
The  studies  that  give  preeminent  opportunity  for 
the  development  of  this  interest  are  literature,  civics, 
and  commercial  geography.  This  last  study,  more 
than  any  other,  reveals  to  the  child  his  own  present 
and  possible  future  relation  to  the  business  world. 
Even  the  barefooted  urchin  of  the  country  crossroads 
may  be  led  to  see  that  his  parents  cast  their  mite 
into  the  world's  commerce  to  have  it  returned  to 


THE   DOCTRINE   OF  INTEREST  65 

them,  not  after  many  days,  but  at  once,  enriched  and 
magnified.  The  heart  of  the  youth  is  fired  as  he 
beholds  the  possibilities  of  a  life  of  cooperative  har- 
mony with  others;  he  sees  the  possibilities  of  his 
own  worth  enhanced  a  thousand  fold,  his  petty  self- 
hood infinitely  enlarged,  his  dignity  exalted,  through 
the  reinforcement  that  the  race  brings  to  him  when 
he  learns  the  supreme  lesson  of  serving  himself 
through  service  to  his  fellow-man. 

3.  The  religious  interest.  This  interest  may  be  to 
considerable  extent  awakened  in  the  school,  even  when 
not  a  word  is  said  about  the  subject  in  the  form  of 
direct  instruction.  As  Ufer  says,  "  When  interest  is 
directed  to  the  history  and  destiny  of  mankind,  when 
it  is  as  clear  to  the  understanding  as  to  the  feelings 
that  the  ordering  of  the  history  of  man  involves  some- 
thing more  than  mere  human  power,  and  that,  there- 
fore, the  history  of  each  individual  does  not  lie  entirely 
in  his  own  hands,  then  fear  and  hope  gather  in  the 
heart."  1 

The  foregoing  exposition  is  designed  to  show  that 
Herbart  meant  by  interest  something  of  vast  impor- 
tance to  the  development  of  the  individual,  not  a 
mere  tickling  of  the  mind  for  transient  ends.  In  the 
words  of  Staude,  "  Interest  is  the  light  with  which 
Herbart  has  once  for  all  brought  the  dark  and  tortu- 
ous course  of  didactics  into  the  clearness  of  day.  It 
is  the  charmed  word  which  alone  gives  power  to  in- 
struction to  call  the  spirit  of  youth  and  to  make 
it  serve  the  aim  of  the  master.  It  is  the  lever  of 

1  Ufer,  Introduction  to  the  Pedagogy  of  Herbart. 


66      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

education,  which,  lightly  and  joyfully  moved  by  the 
teacher,  can  alone  bring  the  youthful  will  into  the 
desired  activity  and  direction." l 

1  Dr.  R.  Staude,  Pddagogische  Studien,  Hrsg.  von  W.  Rein,  Heft 
H. 


CHAPTEE  VI 

INSTRUCTION  — ITS  MATERIALS,  COURSE,  AND  METHOD 
1.   MATERIALS  OF  INSTRUCTION 

THE  materials  of  instruction  are  the  literature  and 
science  that  constitute  human  knowledge.  It  is  to 
Herbart's  successors  that  one  must  look  for  detailed 
directions  for  the  selection  and  articulation  of  the 
subject-matter  of  instruction.  Herbart  himself  dis- 
cussed these  topics  for  the  most  part  in  principle 
only.  Of  literature  and  history  he  says,  "Periods 
which  no  master  has  described,  whose  spirit  no  poet 
breathes,  are  of  little  value  to  education." l  Guided 
by  the  doctrine  of  apperception  as  an  index  to  the 
child's  natural  interests,  he  insisted  that  Greek  should 
come  before  Latin.  He  found  his  boys  ready  and 
eager  to  read  the  Odyssey  at  a  period  at  which  Latin 
was  highly  distasteful  to  them.  The  following  testi- 
mony as  to  his  own  experience  gives  his  point  of  view  : 

"  I  am  indebted  to  the  Odyssey  for  one  of  the  hap- 
piest experiences  of  my  life,  and  in  a  great  degree  for 
my  love  of  education.  This  experience  did  not  teach 
me  the  motive ;  that  I  saw  before,  clearly  enough  to 

1  Herbart,  Science  of  Education,  Felkins'  translation,  p.  74. 
67 


68      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

begin  my  work  as  a  teacher  by  allowing  two  boys,  one 
nine,  the  other  not  yet  eight  years  old,  to  lay  their 
Eutropius  aside,  and  requiring  from  them  Greek  in- 
stead, even  Homer  at  once,  without  any  so-called 
preparation  by  the  hotch-potch  of  text-books.  I  erred 
in  keeping  far  too  closely  to  the  routine  of  schools, 
exacting  accurate  grammatical  analysis,  when  for  this 
beginning  only  the  principal  signs  of  inflection  ought 
to  have  been  taught  and  explained  with  untiring  rep- 
etition, rather  than  demanded  again  and  again  from 
the  boy  by  pressing  questions.  I  lacked  all  prepara- 
tion in  history  and  mythology,  so  necessary  to  make 
exposition  easier,  and  so  easily  furnished  by  a  student 
who  possesses  true  educational  tact.  Many  an  inju- 
rious breeze  from  afar  disturbed  me  much  in  my  sur- 
roundings, which,  I  can  now  but  silently  think,  was 
favorable  to  me.  But  nothing  can  destroy  my  hope 
that  the  good  natures  of  healthy  boys  are  not  to  be 
considered  such  rarities,  but  will  stand  the  greater 
number  of  educators  in  good  stead  as  they  stood  me. 
And  while  I  can  easily  imagine  a  much  greater  art  in 
carrying  out  the  task  than  my  first  attempt  can  boast, 
I  believe  I  learned  from  my  experience  (for  which  the 
reading  of  the  Odyssey  required  a  year  and  a  half) 
that  this  commencement  in  private  tuition  is  as  prac- 
ticable as  it  is  wholesome,  and  that  it  must  ordinarily 
succeed  in  this  sphere,  if  teachers  who  approach  the 
subject  not  only  in  the  philological  but  also  in  the 
educational  spirit,  will  lay  down  some  rules  by  way 
of  help  and  foresight,  more  minutely  than  time  and 
space  at  present  permit  me  to  do.  I  cannot  deter- 
mine what  is  possible  in  schools,  but  were  I  in  the 


INSTRUCTION  — ITS  MATERIALS  69 

position  to  do  so,  I  would  make  the  attempt  with 
courage,  and  with  the  firm  conviction,  that  even  if 
the  result  were  failure,  the  evil  could  not  be  greater 
than  arises  from  the  customary  study  of  Latin  gram- 
mar and  Roman  authors,  of  which  not  one  exists  "even 
passably  suitable  for  guiding  a  boy  at  any  period  of 
his  childhood  into  the  ages  of  antiquity.  They  may 
conveniently  follow,  if  Homer  and  a  few  other  Greeks 
have  gone  before.  But  a  considerable  amount  of 
learned  confusion  is  shown  in  the  manner  in  which 
they  have  hitherto  been  used,  and  in  tolerating  for 
the  sake  of  an  instruction  so  wholly  wanting  in  all 
educational  value,  so  much  labor  for  so  many  years, 
so  much  sacrifice  of  good  humor,  and  of  all  free  move- 
ment of  the  mind.  I  appeal  to  many  educational 
reviews  more  easily  forgotten  than  confuted,  which  at 
any  rate  exposed  this  great  evil,  even  if  they  did  not 
at  once  point  out  a  suitable  remedy. 

"  The  preceding  is  sufficient  to  afford  a  preliminary 
acquaintance  with  this  proposal ;  it  is  not  sufficient 
to  exhibit  it  in  its  infinitely  numerous  relations.  It 
would  be  but  a  beginning,  were  any  one  inclined  to 
grasp  the  whole  of  the  present  volume  in  one  thought, 
and  carry  that  thought  about  with  him.  for  many 
years.  I  at  least  have  not  given  expression  hur- 
riedly to  my  experience.  My  attempt  began  more 
than  eight  years  ago,  and  since  then  I  have  had  time 
to  consider  it. 

"  Let  us  rise  to  a  general  consideration  of  the  subject. 
Let  us  look  on  the  Odyssey  as  the  point  of  touch  in  a 
fellowship  between  pupil  and  teacher,  which,  while  it 
elevates  the  one  in  his  own  sphere,  no  longer  depresses 


70      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

the  other,  and  while  it  guides  the  one  farther  and 
farther  through  a  classical  world,  yields  the  other  a 
most  interesting  picture  in  the  imitative  progress  of 
the  boy,  of  the  great  development  of  humanity,  and 
lastly  prepares  a  store  of  recollections,  which,  asso- 
ciated with  this  eternal  work  of  genius,  must  be  re- 
awakened at  each  return  to  it.  In  like  manner,  a 
familiar  star  recalls  to  friends  the  hours  when  they 
were  wont  to  observe  it  together." l 

Further  directions  as  to  choice  of  material  are  given 
in  the  Science  of  Education,2  as  follows :  — 

"  Without  wasting  time  I  merely  mention  that  of 
Homer's  works,  the  cruder  Iliad  is  not  suitable,  but 
the  entire  Odyssey  is,  with  the  exception  of  a  single 
long  piece  in  the  eighth  book  (individual  expressions 
can  be  easily  avoided).  The  Philoctetus  of  Sophocles 
in  early  years,  then  the  historical  writings  of  Xeno- 
phon  (not,  however,  the  essentially  immoral  Mem- 
orabilia, which  owe  their  reputation  to  the  greatest- 
happiness  doctrine),  and  in  later  boyhood,  after  a  few 
easy  Dialogues,  the  Republic  of  Plato  can  be  read. 
This  last  is  exactly  suited  to  the  awakening  interest 
in  wider  society ;  in  the  years  when  young  men  seri- 
ously devote  themselves  to  politics  it  is  just  as  little 
satisfying  as  Homer  to  a  youth  who  is  just  at  that 
period  when  he  throws  everything  childlike  behind 
him.  Plato,  as  the  teacher  of  idealism,  and  Homer, 
as  the  poet,  always  remain  for  riper  age ;  but  do  not 
these  writers  deserve  to  be  read  twice  ?  Has  not  the 
teacher  of  youth  the  choice  of  spending  much  or  little 
time  in  his  own  hand  ?  " 

iHerbart,  Science  of  Education,  p.  91.  2  Herbart,  Ibid.,  p.  168. 


COURSE   OF  INSTRUCTION  71 

It  is  to  Ziller  and  Rein  that  we  look  for  detailed 
selection  and  arrangement  of  studies  upon  the  basis 
of  apperception  and  a  moral  revelation  of  the  world 
through  their  thought  contents. 

2.   COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION 

Looking  upon  the  educational  procedure  in  a  broad 
way,  Herbart,  in  the  Science  of  Education,  distin- 
guishes three  methods  of  procedure ;  viz.  (1)  the 
merely  presentative,  (2)  the  analytic,  and  (3)  the 
synthetic. 

1.  Only  that  can  be  presented  according  to  the  first 
method  which  is  sufficiently  similar  to  that  which  the 
pupil  has  already  observed  ;  as,  for  example,  pictures 
of  strange  cities,  lands,  and  costumes,  with  the  pict- 
ures of  other  well-known  objects ;  historical  descrip- 
tions reminding  of  the  present.     A  mere  explication 
loses  in  clearness  and  penetration  the   further  it  is 
removed  from  the  experience  of  the  child.     Its  rule 
is,  "  so  to  describe  that  the  pupil  will  imagine  that  he 
has  a  direct  sense-perception." 

2.  Analytic  instruction,  however,  resting  on  its  own 
strength,  has  to  do  more  with  that  which  may  be  sepa- 
rated, that  which  has  reached  some  degree  of  univer- 
sality.    That  Vhich  is  simultaneously  present  can  be 
separated  into  its  parts,  and  the  parts  into  character- 
istics.    The  masses  of  ideas  which  course  through  the 
mind  may  be  separated,  in  order  to  bring  clearness  to 
them.     Events  may  also  in  similar  way  be  separated 
or  analyzed.     In  all  this  one  comes  upon  that  which 
cannot  be  separated,  which  is  law-giving  for  the  specu- 
lative intellect,  and  upon  that  which  should  or  should 


72      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

not  be  separated,  which  is  based  upon  sesthetic  rela- 
tions, the  taste.  In  analytic  instruction  Ave  make  an 
analysis  of  that  which  the  child  knows  in  a  general 
way,  in  order  that  he  may  become  conscious  of  that 
which  is  really  implied  in  his  knowledge,  but  not  con- 
sciously perceived ;  thus,  if  we  analyze  the  line,  "  Art 
is  long,  and  time  is  fleeting,"  which  the  student  under- 
stands well  enough  in  a  certain  way,  we  shall  discover 
a  wealth  of  implied  meaning  not  at  first  seen.  We 
may  find  that  "  art "  means  any  kind  of  human  activ- 
ity in  which  there  is  productivity  —  useful  arts  and 
fine  arts ;  that  "  long "  refers  to  the  past  and  to  the 
future ;  that  the  present  status  of  any  art  (paint- 
ing, weaving)  is  the  product  of  all  recorded  progress 
in  the  past ;  that  if  a  man  would  advance  in  art,  he 
must  master  its  past  to  start  with,  and  manage  to  get 
his  advance  embodied  in  some  tangible  form  (a  dy- 
namo, for  instance)  ;  that,  indeed,  all  machines  are  the 
records  of  arts  that  are  so  "long"  that  they  may 
extend  over  centuries,  and  that  what  we  call  institu- 
tions are  the  spiritual  machines  of  the  race ;  finally, 
that  all  education  is  the  process  of  making  the  indi- 
vidual master  of  these  "  long  "  arts.  But  the  advan- 
tages of  analytical  instruction  are  restricted  by  the 
limitations  of  that  which  can  be  given  only  in  experi- 
ence. Analysis  must  take  its  material  as  it  finds  it. 

3.  Synthetic  instruction,  however,  "which  builds 
out  of  its  own  stones,"  reaches  much  farther.  It  can- 
not, indeed,  be  richer  than  the  science  and  literature 
of  the  world,  but  it  is  incomparably  richer  than  the 
individual  environment  of  the  child.  Within  its  ter- 
ritory lie  mathematics  and  science,  together  with  that 


COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION  73 

which  precedes  and  follows  them,  and  the  whole  ad- 
vance of  mankind  through  the  steps  of  culture  from 
the  old  to  the  new.  Synthesis  has  two  functions  :  to 
give  the  elements,  and  to  contrive  their  union.  To 
complete  the  synthesis  is  impossible,  for  this  is  an 
unending  process. 

Herbart  now  applies  the  analytic  and  the  synthetic 
methods  of  instruction  to  each  of  the  chief  classes 
of  interest.  The  group  of  interests  arising  out  of 
knowledge  is  developed  from  such  subjects  as  mathe- 
matics and  natural  science,  while  that  arising  from 
human  association  (Theilnahme)  comes  out  of  those 
subjects  which  relate  to  man,  such  as  history,  litera- 
ture, and  religion.  We  cannot  at  present  follow  him 
through  these  applications,  though  they  are  highly 
suggestive  to  the  teacher. 

In  view  of  certain  developments  in  the  Herbartian 
school,  it  will  be  interesting  to  note  Herbart's  attitude 
toward  religion.  He  says :  "  The  youth  is  likely  to 
lose  himself  in  opinions.  His  character  must  guard 
him  from  ever  thinking  it  desirable  to  have  no  relig- 
ion ;  his  taste  must  be  too  pure  ever  to  find  the  dis- 
cord bearable  which  necessarily  arises  in  a  world 
without  moral  order ;  that  is  to  say,  which  arises  out 
of  a  world  of  realities  without  the  reality  of  God." 
He  thinks  the  religious  feeling  of  childhood  should  be 
cherished,  for  it  is  impossible  suddenly  to  restore  a 
lost  religious  sensibility  through  speculative  convic- 
tion. "Yet  positive  religion  as  such  does  not  belong 
to  the  school,  but  to  the  church  and  to  the  parents." 
The  followers  of  Herbart,  seizing  upon  the  fact  that 
Germany  is  a  unit  in  demanding  the  teaching  of  relig- 


74      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

ion  in  the  schools,  have  made  this  the  pivot  about 
which  everything  turns  and  to  which  everything  is 
related.  This  may  be  regarded  as  purely  accidental, 
and  by  no  means  necessary  to  a  thorough  application 
of  Herbartian  principles. 

3.   METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION 

Here  again  Herbart  discusses  the  subject  in  prin- 
ciple rather  than  in  concrete  detail ;  while  the  brief 
exposition  he  gave  has,  in  his  successors,  grown  to  be 
an  important  chapter,  under  the  general  title  of  the 
Formal  (or  rational)  Stages  of  Instruction  (Die  for- 
malen  Stufen  des  Unterrichts).1 

Antecedent  to  a  consideration  of  the  four  steps  to 
be  observed  as  a  principle  of  instruction,  we  shall  need 
to  examine  briefly  Herbart's  view  of  attention  as  a 
phase  of  apperception,  and  his  very  suggestive  dis- 
tinction between  mental  absorption  and  rational  reflec- 
tion. 

We  have  seen  that  all  mental  life  consists  in  the 
reciprocal  actions,  relations,  and  conditions  of  the 
ideas ;  that  the  business  of  education  is  to  supply 
ideas,  to  assist  in  their  arrangement,  and  to  bring  their 
proper  relations  before  consciousness.  An  ideal  sys- 
tem of  pedagogics  must  show  how  this  is  to  be  done. 
We  are  indebted  to  Herbart,  perhaps,  more  than  to 
any  other  man,  for  a  series  of  fine  observations  giving 

1  The  following  works  may  be  cited  at  this  point:  Wiget,  Die 
formalen  Stufen;  Rein,  Outlines  of  Pedagogics,  Van  Liew's  trans- 
lation, Syracuse,  N.Y. :  C.  W.  Bardeen,  1893 ;  DeGarmo,  Essentials 
of  Method,  Boston:  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  1893;  McMurry,  General 
Method,  Bloomington,  111. :  Public-School  Publishing  Co.,  1893. 


METHODS  OF   INSTRUCTION  75 

» 

clearness  and  certainty  to  the  procedure  of  instruc- 
tion. 

The  first  step  in  this  direction  is  the  doctrine  of 
Attention,  a  subject  that  has  received  its  most  ex- 
haustive and  fruitful  treatment  at  Herbart's  hands. 

Voluntary  and  involuntary  attention  are  the  two 
parts  into  which  the  subject  naturally  falls. 

(a)  Voluntary  Attention  —  This  is  brought  about 
through  the  effort  of  the  will  in  obedience  to  some 
remote  purpose  of  the  teacher  in  government  or  train- 
ing. In  this  case  the  representations  are  given  to  con- 
sciousness and  are  not  spontaneous  (freisteigend). 
At  this  point  one  of  the  greatest  and  commonest 
mistakes  of  teachers  is  made.  They  imagine  that 
when  they  are  forcing  attention  or  inducing  it  by 
means  of  remote  ends,  such  as  good  marks,  emulation, 
high  rank  in  school,  prizes,  etc.,  that  they  are  best 
serving  the  child  and  the  school.  They  do  not  con- 
si<ier  that  they  are  losing  sight  of  the  main  purpose, 
which  is  the  excitation  of  direct  interest.  This  can 
arise  only  out  of  the  subject  itself.  The  voluntary 
attention,  however,  is  by  no  means  to  be  rejected  in 
those  cases  where  self-control  is  necessary,  as.  in  long- 
continued  direct  perception,  in  learning  by  heart,  etc. 
For  this  latter  procedure,  Herbart  gives  a  number  of 
practical  hints.  We  should  not  begin  with  learning 
by  heart  even  when  this  itself  is  the  end  to  be  reached. 
*First  must  come  clearness  in  single  perceptions ;  then 
their  association.  There  should  be  no  hurry ;  the  be- 
ginning must  be  slow,  especially  where  great  difficul- 
ties are  to  be  met.  Bodily  movements,  oral  recitation, 
often  in  concert,  writing,  drawing,  are  all  helps  which 


76      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

• 

are  not  to  be  neglected.  Even  where  the  memorized 
matter  is  to  be  always  held  by  the  memory,  perpetual 
repetition  is  a  questionable  means,  for  it  may  easily 
lead  to  overpressure.  It  is  preferable  to  exercise  the 
mind  by  constant  application  of  the  matter  in  hand  to 
that  which  actually  interests  the  pupil. 

(b)  Involuntary  Attention  —  Involuntary  attention 
is  divided  into  primitive  and  apperceiving.  In  primi- 
tive attention  the  idea  arises  solely  through  its  own 
individual  power ;  in  apperceiving  attention  it  is 
assisted  or  reinforced  through  its  connection  with 
ideas  already  present  For  the  primitive  attention, 
Herbart  lays  down  four  rules :  — 

1.  The     sense-impression     must     have     sufficient 
strength;   hence  the  need  of  direct  sense-perception 
of  things.     This  failing,  a  picture  is  preferable  to  a 
description. 

2.  Excess  of  sense-impression  must  be  avoided,  so 
that  receptivity  may  be  prolonged. 

3.  A  rapid   piling  up  of  one  thing  upon  another 
must  be  avoided.     There  must  be  singling  out,  separa- 
tion, procedure  step  by  step,  in  order  that  through  the 
opposition  of  the  ideas  a  hindrance  or  mutual  arrest 
shall  not  arise  among  them. 

4.  There  must  be  intermissions,  or  resting-points, 
so  that  the  aroused  ideas  may  have  time  to  restore 
their  equilibrium,  or,  in  other  words,  so  that  the  child 
may  have  time  enough  to  apprehend,  in  its  proper 
connection,  what  has  been  given  to  him.     It  is  not 
advisable,  therefore,  to  hold  young  children  to  recita- 
tion for  long  periods  at  a  time. 

The  apperceiving  attention  is  that  state  of  the  mind 


METHODS   OF  INSTRUCTION  77 

in  which  each  new  representation  is  brought  into 
proper  union  or  relation  with  those  already  present. 
It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  in  education,  and 
although  presupposing  and  depending  upon  the  primi- 
tive attention,  it  is  observed  very  early  in  life. 
Apperception  must  constantly  be  exercised  in  all 
instruction,  for  instruction  is  given  in  words  only ; 
the  ideas  upon  which  the  interpretation  of  the  words 
depends  must  be  supplied  by  the  hearer,  or  learner. 
When  this  kind  of  attention  is  once  properly  pursuing 
its  course,  it  should  not  be  disturbed.  The  teaching 
must  go  on  until  it  has  satisfied  the  expectation  that 
it  has  aroused.  The  solution  must  plainly  answer  to 
the  problem.  Everything  must  be  connected.  Atten- 
tion is  disturbed  by  untimely  pauses  or  by  the  intro- 
duction of  foreign  matter.  It  is  disturbed  when  that 
is  brought  into  the  light  which  should  have  remained 
in  shadow.  The  same  is  true  of  oft-repeated  words, 
set  forms  of  expression  —  everything  that  emphasizes 
the  language  at  the  expense  of  the  subject-matter ; 
this  is  true  even  of  rhymes,  stanzas  of  poetry,  and 
rhetorical  adornment  when  used  in  the  wrong  place. 
A  fundamental  rule  is  that,  before  being  set  at  work, 
the  pupil  shall  be  led  into  a  field  of  consciousness 
similar  to  that  in  which  his  work  is  to  lie.  This  can 
be  done  at  the  beginning  of  a  recitation  hour  by  giving 
a  short  review  of  the  work  of  the  preceding  lesson  or 
by  a  general  review  of  that  which  is  to  be  attempted, 
or  by  both.  This  thought  is  more  fully  developed  by 
Herbart's  disciples.  Instruction  builds  upon  the  foun- 
dation of  experience  already  gained  in  or  out  of  the 
school.  The  fact  that  that  which  is  already  possessed 


78      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

is  to  be  widened  and  strengthened  and  arranged,  ex- 
cites attention  and  expectation.  If  that  which  is 
already  possessed  is  not  strong  and  vivid  enough,  it 
must  be  reproduced  in  order  to  lead  the  pupil  into  the 
field  of  thought  where  his  work  lies.  The  right  care 
for  the  apperception,  i.e.,  the  proper  distribution  of 
the  masses  of  ideas  as  they  exist  in  consciousness  or 
come  into  it,  is  of  the  greatest  importance  in  method- 
ical instruction.  For,  only  by  a  vital  and  consistent 
uniting  of  new  ideas  to  those  already  present,  can  the 
compass  of  thought  be  continually  extended  and  made 
a  permanent  acquisition.  This  is  the  reason  why 
the  teaching  of  great  numbers  of  unrelated  facts,  in 
geography  and  history,  for  instance,  is  such  a  fatal 
blunder. 

(c)  Mental  Absorption  and  Reflection — In  the  ac- 
tivity of  the  mind  in  taking  on  or  apprehending  the 
ideas  in  their  manifoldness,  we  meet  with  the  notions 
of  Absorption  (Vertiefnng)  and  Reflection  (Besin- 
nung) .  Absorption  is  the  giving  up  of  one's  self  to 
an  object  in  thought.  It  is  the  special  care  that  one 
gives  to  a  subject  in  order  to  apprehend  it  fully  and  to 
enter  into  it.  But  absorption  should  not  be  distorted. 
A  single,  habitual  frame  of  mind  that  would  falsify 
and  minimize  all  other  impressions,  must  be  avoided. 
"The  mind  should  manifest  itself  clearly  in  many 
directions." 

But  again,  the  personality  that  rests  upon  unity  of 
consciousness  would  not  obtain  in  continuous  absorp- 
tion, if  the  collecting  power  of  reflection  did  not  step 
in  to  unite  the  manifold  that  absorption  has  given. 
Reflection  must,  however,  avoid  the  synthesis  of  the 


METHODS  OF  INSTRUCTION  79 

contradictory,  for  where  this  occurs  confusion  follows, 
or  the  mind  is  lost  in  doubt  and  irrational  desires. 
"  But  the  true  significance  of  reflection  (Besinnung) 
is  not  that  what  we  call  inner  synthesis,  consists 
merely  in  a  uniting  of  ideas  in  general,  but  that  we 
simultaneously  gather  them  about  the  focus  of  our 
self-consciousness,  and  make  ourselves  aware  of  them 
as  our  possessions,  or  mental  states." 1  But  since  the 
two  notions,  absorption  and  reflection,  exclude  each 
other,  each  must  pass  over  into  the  other.  Herbart 
calls  them  the  inspiration  and  expiration  of  the  soul. 

It  is  in  this  connection  that  we  come  next  to  the 
logical  distinction  of  four  steps,  or  stages,  in  instruc- 
tion and  method.  They  are:  (1)  clearness;  (2)  asso- 
ciation ;  (3)  system ;  (4)  method. 

(  d  )  The  Formal  Steps  of  Instruction  —  Taking  up 
the  four  notions  in  order,  we  have :  — 

1.  Clearness  —  By  this  term  Herbart  means  the  ap- 
prehensi9n  of  the  individual,  or  single  object  as  such. 
The  manner  of  instruction  is  simple  presentation  on 
the  part  of  the  teacher  and  reception  on  the  part  of 
the  pupil.     It  may,  according  to  one  of  Pestalozzi's 
methods   of   elementary  instruction,   consist    in    the 
teacher's  presenting  a  word  or  a  sentence  "to  the  class 
and  having  the  latter  repeat  the  same,  singly  or  in 
concert.     In  general,  it  means  the  perception  of  any 
concrete  or  individual  fact  by  the  pupil.     This  step 
is  one  of  absorption. 

2.  Association  —  This   consists  in  a  progress  from 
one  absorption  to  another,  as  opposed  to  the  non-pro- 

1  Schmidt,  Encyclopadie  der  Padagogik,  art.  "  Herbart." 


80      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

gressive  absorption  of  the  first  step.  It  appears  as  a 
uniting  that  is  determined  through  the  imagination, 
"which  tastes  every  compound  and  rejects  only  the 
.tasteless."  Association  is  not  complete  when,  in  that 
which  is  learned,  there  is  not  force  enough  to  bring 
the  imagination  to  the  front,  or  when  that  which  is 
learned  checks  its  action.  The  method  for  this  step 
is  conversation,  which  gives  the  pupil  an  opportunity 
to  investigate,  to  change,  to  make  consistent  the  acci- 
dental union  of  thoughts,  and  to  assimilate,  after  his 
own  fashion,  what  is  learned.  This  step,  although 
characterized  as  absorption,  seems  to  contain  elements 
of  reflection.  It  is  an  elementary  stage  in  the  process 
of  apperception,  or  assimilation  of  knowledge. 

3.  System — This  is  the  step  in  which  each  part  of 
that  which  is  learned  finds  its  proper  place  in  relation 
to  the  other  parts.  It  evidently  belongs  to  the  non- 
progressive  reflection  (ruhende  Besinnung).  It  is  the 
rich  arrangement  of  a  rich  reflection.  "  Its  essential 
condition  is  clearness  of  the  individual  elements ;  its 
method  is  the  connected  discourse.  The  bare  state- 
ment of  an  all-pervading  principle  does  not  suffice  to 
bring  its  importance  into  view,  except  to  him  who 
reflects.  To  see  the  importance  and  bearing  of  this 
principle  one  need  only  consider  what  a  chaos  instruc- 
tion is  when  coordination  does  not  come,  in  to  unite 
and  articulate  any  given  manifold."  Just  as  the  mind 
synthesizes  the  manifold  of  sensation  into  significant 
unities,  so  the  teacher  should  synthesize  the  manifold 
given  in  instruction,  in  order  that  each  factor  may 
find  its  place  in  an  organic  whole.  This  stage  com- 
pletes the  association  of  the  elements  of  knowledge, 


METHODS   OF   INSTRUCTION  81 

and  brings  about  the  highest  scientific  organization  of 
which  the  pupil  is  capable. 

4.  Method  —  By  this  term  Herbart  understands  the 
well-ordered  self-activity  of  the  pupil  in  the  solution 
of  tasks,  and  in  investigation  under  the  leadership  of 
the  teacher.  He  sees  in  this  step  the  progressive  re- 
flection. The  mode  of  procedure  is  to  assign  tasks 
and  problems  whose  preparation  is  the  duty  of  the 
pupils,  and  which  the  teacher  corrects. 

As  before  remarked,  it  is  one  of  the  chief  merits  of 
the  Herbartian  school  to  have  further  developed  these 
thoughts  of  the  master.1  We  may  therefore  defer  a 
more  minute  discussion  of  the  subject,  and  close  this 
department  of  our  topic  with  a  few  quotations  of  gen- 
eral import. 

Herbart  says  :  "  In  general,  absorption  should  pre- 
cede reflection,  but  just  how  far  it  should  do  so  re- 
mains undetermined.  Certainly  the  two  must  be 
kept  together  as  closely  as  possible,  for  we  wish  no 
absorption  that  would  be  harmful  to  personal  unity, 
the  condition  of  which  is  reflection.  We  can  desire 
no  reflection  whose  long  and  unbroken  continuance 
would  create  a  tension  under  which  a  sound  mind 
could  not  exist  in  a  sound  body.  In  order,  therefore, 
to  keep  the  mind  in  balance,  we  prescribe  the  general 
rule :  give  equal  prominence  to  absorption  and  reflec- 

1  The  most  elaborate  application  of  these  four  ideas,  now  known 
in  Germany  as  the  formal  stages  of  instruction,  is  found  in  Dr. 
Rein's  Theorie  und  Praxis  des  Volksschulunterrichts  nach  Her- 
bartischen  Grundsiitzen.  In  these  books  all  the  work  of  the  eight 
school  years  is  laid  down  in  great  detail,  and  a  large  number  of 
model  exercises  worked  out  according  to  the  formal  steps.  This 
epoch-making  work  will  be  considered  in  Part  II. 


82      HERBAKT  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

tion  in  every  group  of  objects,  even  the  smallest; 
that  is  to  say,  emphasize  equally  clearness  of  the  in- 
dividual perception,  association  of  the  manifold,  co- 
ordination of  the  associated,  and  progress  through 
exercise  according  to  this  coordination.  Upon  these 
conditions  depends  the  charm  which  should  rule  in 
everything  that  is  learned." 

In  this  connection  Herbart's  protest  against  tedious- 
ness  in  the  school-room  is  pertinent.  He  says :  "  Ex- 
perience often  brings  a  tediousness  that  we  have  to 
bear,  but  which  the  pupil  should  never  have  to  suffer 
at  the  hands  of  the  teacher.  Tediousness  is  the  great- 
est sin  of  instruction.  It  is  the  privilege  of  instruction 
to  fly  over  steppes  and  morasses  ;  if  it  cannot  always 
wander  in  pleasant  valleys,  it  can  at  least  exercise 
in  mountain  climbing-  and  reward  with  broad  fields 
of  view." 


CHAPTER  VII 

SCHOOL  DISCIPLINE  — GOVERNMENT  AND  TRAINING 
1.    GOVERNMENT 

THIS  chapter  is  an  important  one  for  those  who 
would  grasp  the  whole  significance  of  Herbart's  system 
of  education,  in  which  instruction  in  knowledge,  even 
that  apparently  non-moral  in  kind,  performs  an  im- 
portant function  in  the  development  of  moral  charac- 
ter. At  the  outset  Herbart  makes  a  sharp  distinction 
between  mere  repressive  governmental,  or  police,  reg- 
ulation, whereby  heedlessness,  or  youthful  impetu- 
osity and  boisterousness,  is  held  in  check  without 
regard  to  any  specific  moral  effort,  and  to  those  more 
serious,  far-reaching  efforts  that  involve  the  forma- 
tion of  moral  habits.  By  government,  then,  he  means 
the  immediate  maintenance  of  outward  order  through 
enforced  authority,  the  holding  in  check  of  youthful 
perversity,  partly  that  education  may  succeed,  partly 
to  secure  the  safety  of  the  child  in  many  kinds  of 
danger,  partly  to  protect  society  against  childish  love 
of  destruction  and  mischief.  Training  is  moral  edu- 
cation itself  in  so  far  as  it  works  directly  upon  the 
mind.  It  seeks  to  build  the  will,  whereas  govern- 

83 


84      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

merit  attempts  only  to  hold  it  temporarily  in  re- 
straint. Training  is  here  related  and  united  to 
instruction,  and  together  with  it  comprises  the  whole 
of  education  proper.  Government  works  for  the  pres- 
ent, training  for  the  future.  It  is  the  business  of 
government  to  hold  youthful  impulses  in  check  until 
training  has  time  to  form  a  will  that  shall  be  able 
to  control  them.  Great  harm  ensues  when  the  teacher 
always  governs  but  never  trains ;  when  he  imagines 
that  older  and  shrewder  pupils  need  only  shrewder 
government.  The  following  from  Herbart's  own 
words  makes  perfectly  clear  the  occasion  for  govern- 
ment, together  with  its  scope  and  function :  — 

"The  child  enters  the  world  without  a  will  of  its 
own,  and  is  therefore  incapable  of  any  conscious  moral 
relation.  Consequently  the  parents  (partly  spontane- 
ously, partly  agreeably  to  the  demand  of  society)  can 
make  themselves  master  of  the  child  as  of  a  chattel.  It 
is  true  they  know  well  that  in  the  being  whom  they 
now,  without  asking,  treat  as  they  like,  a  Will  in  the 
course  of  time  will  put  itself  forth,  which  they  must 
win  over  to  themselves  if  the  incongruity  of  a  con- 
flict unseemly  to  both  is  to  be  avoided.  But  it  is 
long  before  this  takes  place.  At  first,  instead  of  a 
true  will,  which  renders  the  child  capable  of  deter- 
mination, there  is  only  a  wild  impetuosity,  impelling 
it  hither  and  thither,  a  principle  of  disorder,  dis- 
turbing the  plans  of  adults,  and  placing  the  future 
personality  of  the  child  itself  in  manifold  dangers. 
This  impetuosity  must  be  subdued,  or  the  disorderly 
character  will  be  put  down  as  the  fault  of  the  child's 
guardians.  Subjection  is  brought  about  by  force,  and 


GOVERNMENT  85 

the  force  must  be  sufficiently  strong,  and  often  enough 
repeated,  to  compass  this  subjection  before  any  trace 
of  a  true  will  is  manifested  in  the  child.  The  prin- 
ciples of  practical  philosophy  require  this. 

"But  the  germs  of  this  blind  impulsiveness,  these 
crude  desires,  remain  in  the  child,  and  even  increase 
and  grow  stronger  with  time.  To  the  end,  therefore, 
that  they  may  not  give  to  the  will  growing  up  in 
their  midst  an  anti-social  direction,  it  is  necessary 
to  keep  them  constantly  under  an  ever-perceptible 
restraint. 

"An  adult  trained  to  reason  undertakes,  as  time  goes 
on,  to  govern  himself.  There  are  human  beings,  how- 
ever, who  never  reach  this  point,  and  society  keeps 
such  under  perpetual  guardianship,  calling  some 
idiots,  some  prodigals.  Some  there  are  who  actually 
cultivate  in  themselves  an  anti-social  will ;  with  such 
society  is  inevitably  at  war,  and  generally  they  are 
justly  worsted  in  the  end.  But  the  conflict  is  a 
moral  evil  for  society  itself,  to  prevent  which  child- 
government  is  one  among  numerous  necessary  pre- 
cautions. 

"  It  is  obvious  that  the  aim  of  child-government  is 
manifold  —  partly  avoidance  of  harm  both  for  others 
and  for  the  child  himself  in  the  present  and  the 
future,  partly  avoidance  of  strife  as  an  evil  in  itself, 
finally  avoidance  of  collision,  in  which  society  finds 
itself  forced  into  a  contest  for  which  it  is  not  perfectly 
authorized. 

"  It  all  amounts  to  this,  that  such  government  aims 
at  producing  no  specific  moral  result  in  the  mind 
(Gem'dtJi)  of  the  child,  but  only  at  creating  a  spirit  of 


86      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

order.  Nevertheless,  it  will  soon  be  clear  that  the 
cultivation  of  the  child-soul  cannot  be  altogether  a 
matter  of  indifference  to  government." 1 

These  childish  offences  arise  out  of  desires  having 
a  bodily  or  mental  origin.  The  wise  teacher  seeks  to 
remove  their  cause.  For  example,  if  disturbance  arise 
from  physical  restlessness,  this  is  an  indication  that 
seats  are  uncomfortable,  or  that  the  air  is  bad,  or  the 
temperature  too  high  or  too  low,  or  that  the  recita- 
tion periods  are  too  long.  Disturbances  arising  from 
mental  conditions  must  likewise  be  traced  to  their 
source,  that  the  disturbing  cause  may  be  removed. 
The  impulse  to  mental  activity  is  one  of  the  strongest 
in  the  child.  If  school  work  is  not  properly  planned, 
some  children  will  receive  no  food  for  mental  activity 
from  the  teacher,  and  will,  of  course,  supply  their  own. 
It  follows  naturally,  when  the  teacher  has  been  able 
to  excite  only  indirect  or  transient  interest,  such  as 
results  from  mere  government  or  unworthy  incentive 
to  study,  that  disturbances  arising  from  mental  dis- 
satisfaction are  always  imminent.  In  such  cases 
the  disturbing  cause  is  the  teacher. 

The  watchful  attention  of  the  teacher  is  a  means  of 
government  to  prevent  disorder.  Again,  the  teacher 
may  demand  obedience  to  his  directions.  If  the  obedi- 
ence is  to  follow  as  a  result  of  the  teacher's  authority, 
without  inquiry  into  reasons,  then  any  means  taken 
to  secure  obedience  belong  to  the  department  of  gov- 
ernment. The  obedience  that  follows  the  directions 
of  the  teacher,  because  the  pupil  in  consequence  of 

1  Science  of  Education,  pp.  95,  96. 


GOVERNMENT  87 

reflection  has  agreed  to  their  correctness,  falls,  not 
under  government,  but  under  training.  The  means  of 
enforcing  commands  are  warnings,  threats,  and  finally 
punishments,  at  the  end  of  which  stands  corporal 
chastisement.  Yet  more  fundamental  to  government 
are  two  ruling,  complementary  ideas,  AUTHORITY  and 
LOVE.  Of  them  Herbart  says:  "The  mind  bends  to 
authority ;  its  peculiar  movements  are  constrained  by 
it,  and  it  may  thus  be  of  considerable  service  in  sup- 
pressing a  growing  will  which  tends  to  perverseness. 
It  can  be  least  dispensed  with  in  the  case  of  the  most 
energetic  natures,  for  these  make  trial  of  the  bad  as 
well  as  the  good,  and  pursue  the  good  if  they  are 
not  lost  in  the  bad.  But  authority  is  obtained  only 
through  superiority  of  mind,  and  this,  as  is  well  known, 
cannot  be  reduced  to  rules.  It  must  act  indepen- 
dently, without  reference  to  education.  A  logical  and 
far-reaching  course  of  action  once  prescribed,  must 
openly  and  freely  take  its  own  straight  course,  regard- 
ful of  circumstances,  but  undisturbed,  untroubled  by 
the  likes  or  dislikes  of  a  weaker  will.  If  the  careless 
boy  breaks  rudely  into  the  prescribed  circle,  he  must 
be  made  to  feel  what  he  might  spoil.  If  the  wanton 
desire  to  spoil  arises  in  him,  the  intention,  so  far  as  it 
becomes  or  could  become  an  act,  must  be  richly  pun- 
ished ;  but  the  teacher  must  scorn  to  take  any  notice  of 
the  bad  will,  together  with  the  insult  implied  therein. 
To  wound  the  desire  to  do  evil,  which  the  government 
of  children  is  as  powerless  as  the  state  to  punish,  with 
the  deep  disapproval  it  deserves,  is  the  business  of 
education,  which  begins  only  after  government  has 
done  its  work.  For  the  way  to  utilize  authority  once 


88      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

attained,  we  must  look  beyond  government  to  educa- 
tion proper.  For  though  mental  culture  gains  nothing 
directly  from  passive  obedience  to  authority,  the  mark- 
ing out  or  enlargement  of  the  circle  of  thought  which 
depends  upon  it,  and  in  which  the  pupil  moves  freely 
and  builds  up  himself  independently,  is  of  the  highest 
importance. 

Love  depends  on  the  harmony  of  the  feelings  and 
on  habit.  The  difficulty  a  stranger  finds  in  winning 
it  at  once  becomes  apparent.  He  who  secludes  him- 
self, who  speaks  much  in  hard  tones,  and  becomes  ex- 
cited about  trifles,  will  assuredly  never  gain  it ;  nor, 
on  the  other  hand,  will  he  who  makes  himself  familiar 
—  who,  when  he  should  be  kind  and  yet  at  the  same 
time  maintain  his  ascendancy,  seeks  his  own  pleasure 
by  taking  part  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  children.  The 
harmony  of  feelings  that  love  demands,  may  arise  in 
two  ways.  Either  the  teacher  enters  into  the  feelings 
of  the  pupil,  and  without  permitting  it  to  be  noticed, 
joins  in  them  with  tact,  or  he  takes  care  that  the 
feelings  of  the  pupil  can  approach  his  own  in  some 
particular  way ;  this  is  more  difficult,  but  must,  never- 
theless, be  combined  with  the  other,  because  only 
when  it  is  possible  for  the  pupil  to  unite  his  activity 
in  some  way  or  other  with  the  teacher's  can  he  con- 
tribute force  of  his  own  to  the  relationship  between 
them. 

"  But  a  boy's  love  is  transitory  and  fitful  unless  suffi- 
cient strength  of  habit  be  added.  Time,  tender  care, 
intercourse  alone  with  the  individual,  strengthen  the 
relationship.  We  need  not  say  how  much  this  love, 
once  won,  lightens  the  task  of  government ;  but  it  is 


TRAINING  89 

so  important  to  education  proper  (since  it  imparts  to 
the  pupil  the  teacher's  bent  of  mind),  that  those  de- 
serve the  severest  blame  who  so  readily  and  so  fatally 
make  use  of  it  to  gratify  themselves  by  the  exhibi- 
tion of  their  power  over  their  children." 

2.   TRAINING,  OB  DISCIPLINE  IN  THE  LARGE  SENSE 

To  show  more  fully,  however,  what  relation  train- 
ing, or  discipline  in  the  wider  sense,  bears  to  the 
formation  of  character,  Herbart  offers  the  following 
trenchant  remarks  upon  the  attempts  that  many  make 
to  form  character  through  repression  or  by  harping 
upon  the  chords  of  sensibility :  — 

"  Direct  action  on  the  youthful  mind  with  a  view 
to  habit,  is  discipline,  or  training.  It  appears,  then, 
there  is  a  possibility  of  forming  the  character  by 
merely  acting  on  the  feelings  without  reference  to 
the  circle  of  thought.  It  might  indeed  appear  to  be 
so,  if  we  were  wont,  without  further  search,  to  give 
ideas  logically  put  together  out  of  properties  the  credit 
of  reality  . 

"  But  it  will  appear  quite  otherwise  if  we  interro- 
gate experience.  At  least,  whoever  has  noticed  into 
what  an  abyss  of  pain  and  misfortune  a  human  being 
may  fall,  and  even  remain  for  long  periods,  and  yet, 
after  the  time  of  trouble  has  passed,  rise  up  again 
apparently  almost  unchanged,  the  same  person,  with 
the  same  aim  and  opinion,  even  the  same  manner  — 
whoever,  we  say,  has  noticed  this,  will  hardly  expect 
much  from  that  swaying  of  the  emotions,  by  which 
mothers  especially  so  often  believe  they  are  educat- 


90      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

ing  their  children.  Besides,  when  we  see  what  degrees 
of  paternal  strictness  a  robust  youth  will  endure,  and 
remain  untouched,  what  incentives  are  wasted  on 
weak  natures  without  making  them  stronger,  how 
temporary  is  the  whole  reaction  which  follows  the 
action,  we  way  well  advise  the  educator  not  to  pre- 
pare false  relations,  for  himself,  which  are  usually  the 
only  residue  of  mere  discipline ! 

"To  me  all  these  experiences  are  but  confirma- 
tions of  an  extremely  simple  psychological  conviction, 
namely,  that  all  feelings  are  but  passing  modifica- 
tions of  the  existing  presentations,  and  then  when  the 
modifying  cause  ceases,  the  circle  of  thought  must 
return  by  itself  to  its  old  equilibrium.  The  only 
result  I  should  expect  from  mere  stimulation  of  the 
emotions,  would  be  a  fatal  blunting  of  the  finer  feel- 
ings, the  place  of  which  would  be  taken  by  an  artifi- 
cial sensibility  which  in  the  course  of  years  would 
but  foster  pretence  with  all  its  troublesome  offshoots. 

"The  case  is  indeed  entirely  different,  when  the 
circle  of  thought  receives  additions  as  opportunity  offers, 
or  when  endeavors  pass  into  action  and  thereby'  become 
will.  These  conditions  must  be  taken  into  account  in 
order  to  interpret  experience  correctly. 

"At  this  point,  we  can  judge  what  discipline  may 
be  to  education.  All  changes  of  feeling  the  pupil  must 
suffer,  are  only  necessary  transitions  to  determinations 
of  the  circle  of  thought,  or  of  character.  And  thus 
the  relation  of  discipline  to  formation  of  character  is 
twofold  —  indirect  and  direct.  It  partly  helps  to 
make  that  instruction  possible  which  will  influence 
the  subsequent  formation  of  the  character  of  the  fu- 


TRAINING  91 

ture  independent  man ;  it  is  partly  a  means  even  now 
to  create  or  not  to  create,  through  action  or  inaction, 
as  the  case  may  be,  a  beginning  of  character.  It  is 
impossible  to  instruct  an  ungovernable  boy,  and  the 
boyish  tricks  he  plays  are  to  be  taken  in  a  certain  way 
as  indications  of  his  future  personality,  though,  as 
every  one  knows,  with  considerable  limitations.  An 
unruly  boy  acts  mostly  from  fleeting  fancies ;  doubt- 
less he  learns  thereby  what  he  can  do,  but  the  first 
element  necessary  to  fix  the  will  is  here  wanting  —  a 
firm,  deeply-rooted  desire.  Only  where  this  forms  the 
basis,  do  boyish  tricks  help  to  determine  character. 
The  first  relation  of  discipline  to  the  formation  of 
character  is  thus  the  more  important  —  that,  namely, 
which  clears  the  way  for  such  instruction  as  will  pen- 
etrate the  thoughts,  interests,  and  desires.  Still  the 
second  ought  not  to  be  neglected,  least  of  all  in  sub- 
jects who  are  less  mobile  and  act  with  firmer  purpose. 
The  concept  of  discipline  formulated  in  the  beginning 
is,  taken  merely  in  itself,  completely  empty.  The 
mere  intention  to  form  cannot  enter  into,  or  directly 
act  on,  the  mind  in  such  a  way  as  to  become  a  power 
really  able  to  form.  Those  who  by  means  of  such  an 
empty  discipline  shoiv  their  good  intentions,  work,  they 
know  not  how,  on  gentle  natures  through  the  specta- 
cle they  themselves  present ;  their  tender,  anxious, 
urgent  manner  gives  the  observant  boy  the  idea  of  the 
great  importance  of  the  thing  which  an  otherwise 
honored  person  has  so  much  at  heart.  Such  teachers 
then  need  only  be  careful  not  to  mar  this  spectacle  in 
other  ways,  not  to  stifle  respect  by  passion  or  petti- 
ness, or,  even  worse,  lay  themselves  open  to  the  criti- 


92  HERB  ART  AND   THE    HERBARTIANS 

cism  of  the  child,  often  as  true  as  it  is  sharp.  Thus 
they  will  be  able  to  accomplish  much  for  impres- 
sionable natures,  without,  however,  being  for  that  rea- 
son safe  from  committing  greater  errors  with  less 
willing  ones." l 

The  most  important  thought  in  Herbart's  peda- 
gogics is  that  training  shall  unite  with  instruction  to 
form  character.  But  character-building  is  will-build- 
ing. To  understand  more  fully,  therefore,  how  train- 
ing is  to  affect  the  will,  we  must  make  a  summary  of 
Herbart's  doctrine  of  the  formation  of  the  will  as  pre- 
sented in  Chapter  III.  Will  arises  out  of  desire  when 
coupled  with  a  conviction  of  the  possibility  of  its  at- 
tainment. The  idea  in  its  strength  and  completion 
is  will.  But  along  with  every  action  of  the  will  there 
is  present  in  consciousness  a  mass  of  ideas  concern- 
ing motives,  duties,  considerations,  etc.,  all  of  which 
together  form  a  "  picture  "  of  the  will-action.  When 
the  will  a  second  time  has  occasion  to  make  a  similar 
decision,  this  "  picture  "  of  the  former  action  at  once 
rises  into  consciousness.  If  the  second  decision  coin- 
cides with  the  first,  the  total  representation  is  much 
strengthened  and  vivified.  Later  repetitions  continue 
to  deepen  the  impression.  If  now,  upon  a  later  occa- 
sion, a  desire  arises  which  contradicts  and  opposes  the 
decisions  already  made,  there  at  once  begins  a  mental 
strife  or  struggle  between  the  opposing  ideas,  the  old 
and  established  group,  which  has  been  made  strong 
and  vivid  by  repeated  actions  of  the  will,  on  the  one 
side,  and  the  new  and  opposing  desire  on  the  other. 

1  Science  of  Education,  pp.  229-231. 


TEAINING  93 

If  the  latter  idea  falls  in  with  the  former,  the  hind- 
rance is  removed,  union  takes  place,  and  mental  peace 
and  comfort  follow.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the  decision 
is  opposed  to  previous  right  ones,  the  opposition  re- 
mains, and  a  mental  discomfort  ensues,  the  highest 
degree  of  which  is  called  remorse.  Out  of  single  acts 
of  will,  then,  grows  the  more  general  will.  Every  new 
similar  action  strengthens  the  tendency  already  at 
hand.  The  memory  of  the  will,  or  reproduction  of 
the  will  —  "  pictures,"  becomes  important  in  this  con- 
sideration. If  the  reproduction  is  to  be  rapid  and 
clear,  the  representations  of  which  these  "  pictures  " 
are  composed  must  be  intimately  and  strongly  united. 
This  would  be  the  case,  for  example,  when  a  will- 
action  arises  from  energetic  and  thoroughgoing  reflec- 
tion. The  latest  series  of  ideas,  then,  are  examined 
by  the  apperception,  or  synthesizing  power  of  the 
mind,  to  see  if  they  can  be  harmonized  and  united  to 
the  former.  The  result  is  a  judgment  on  the  matter, 
out  of  which  rises  a  command  or  prohibition.  When 
such  a  judgment  is  extended  so  as  to  include  not 
merely  a  single  case,  but  a  whole  class  of  similar 
cases,  we  call  it  a  practical  principle  of  conduct,  or 
maxim.  "  If  these  maxims  are  to  hold  good  for  life, 
they  must  arise  through  and  out  of  life ;  true  maxims 
are  always  the  expression  of  a  portion  of  the  life  his- 
tory of  an  individual.  Maxims  which  have  their 
origin  in  the  thinking  reflection,  as,  for  example,  in 
instruction,  must  be  practised  in  life  to  become  real 
maxims." l  It  is  the  business  of  training  to  see  that 

1  Volkmann,  Lehrbuch  der  Psychologic,  ii.,  454. 


94      HEKBART  AND  THE  HERBAETIANS 

all  classes  of  will-action  are  brought  under  the  do- 
minion of  moral  maxims,  in  order  that  a  "  symmetrical 
passion  for  good  "  may  be  created.  "  Character  is,  in 
general,  uniformity  and  fixedness  of  the  whole  of 
will." 

Children  have  at  first  no  real  moral  character.  It 
arises  gradually,  and  begins  when  here  and  there 
single  moral  volitions  arise  from  the  union  of  similar 
acts  of  will.  These  more  general  determinations  of 
will-action  which,  through  the  apperception,  begin  to 
accept  or  reject  the  new  will-actions,  form  the  begin- 
ning of  the  subjective  side,  or  subjective  foundations  of 
character.  Over  against  this  stands  the  objective  part, 
or  the  single  will-act  which  results  from  a  manifold  of 
desire.  The  subjective  part  of  character  is  that  which 
determines;  the  objective  part  is  that  which  is  deter- 
mined. In  regard  to  the  subjective  side  of  character, 
it  is  the  task  of  instruction,  in  company  with  training, 
to  see  to  it,  not  that  several  lines  of  thought,  existing 
alongside  of  each  other,  come  to  validity,  "  but  that 
there  be  secured  that  unity  of  a  ruling  habit  of 
thought  upon  which  rests  the  energy  and  consistency 
of  will  peculiar  to  character,  and  through  which  a 
limit  is  set  to  the  rule  of  the  passions."  With  these 
general  remarks  about  the  nature  and  growth  of  will, 
we  may  turn  to  the  more  individual  phases  of  train- 
ing- 
Empty  training,  the  mere  playing  upon  the  chords 
of  sensibility,  is  by  all  means  to  be  avoided,  for  it 
merely  deadens  feeling  without  effecting  anything 
more. 

It  is  the  duty  of  training  to  care   for  the   deed. 


TRAINING  96 

through  whose  courage  the  will  is  strengthened ;  of 
course  to  further  the  good,  to  suppress  the  bad. 

There  are  two  characteristics  of  the  will-furthering 
deed :  (1)  It  must  have  an  aim  of  real,  earnest  sig- 
nificance, and  (2)  it  must  proceed  from  an  earnest 
desire  of  the  child ;  must  spring  from  a  direct  rather 
than  an  indirect  interest.  It  is  the  business  of  train- 
ing not  to  suppress  disorder,  but  to  cultivate  that 
habitual  right  tone  of  mind  so  essential  for  instruc- 
tion. It  seeks  to  remove  disturbing  influences,  so 
that  no  matters  of  overpowering  temporary  interest 
fill  the  mind.  It  seeks  to  secure  a  collected  state  of 
mind  in  pupils.  It  works  to  the  end  that  the  same 
docility,  willingness,  and  openness  be  ever  present  or 
newly  awakened,  and  if  the  pupil  has  reached  the 
point  where  his  self-activity  suffices  as  impelling  and 
guiding  force,  training  seeks  to  give  him  the  needed 
quietude.  In  its  direct  influence  upon  the  will,  train- 
ing has  for  its  end  fixedness  or  firmness  of  character. 
The  factors  of  its  activity  are  as  follows  :  — 
1.  It  limits  and  enlivens  action  according  to  its  own 
sense.  In  that  it  limits,  it  meets  the  closely  related 
government,  but  its  "accent"  is  very  different, —  not 
short  and  sharp,  but  measured ;  of  slow  penetration 
and  gradual  withdrawal.  It  limits  harmful  action 
through  diverting  employment  and  through  punish- 
ment. This  last,  however,  belongs  to  training  only 
when  the  action  is  seen  to  be  deliberate,  and  where 
new  excitations  break  forth,  which,  continued,  would 
impress  false  features  upon  the  mind.  It  enlivens 
action  where  the  present  tendency  of  thought  gives 
hope  of  a  correct  determination  of  character. 


96      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

2.  In  reference  to  what  has  been  called  the  objective 
side  of  character,  i.e.,  the  volition  resulting  from  a 
manifold  of  desire,  training  must  support  and  deter- 
mine (halten  und  bestimmen).     By  the  first  of  these  is 
meant  the  correct  procedure  of  training  in  order  to 
effect  the  memory  of  the  will.     This  is  brought  about 
when  the  teacher  always  conducts  himself  toward  the 
pupil  with  quiet  and  fixed  certainty,  never  losing  pres- 
ence of  mind,  and  always  answering  to  the  tone  of 
mind  in  which  he  has  placed  his  pupils.     The  teacher 
must  be  so  won  for  education  that  he  himself  is  largely 
determined  by  the  pupils,  and  then,  through  a  natural 
reflex   influence,  will  determine  them.     The  teacher 
must  press  the  naturally  determining  feelings  so  pen- 
etratingly upon  the  pupil  that  he  will  early  perceive 
the  true  relation  of  things.     Here  is  the  place  for  the 
punishment  which  is  to  train.     It   is   distinguished 
from  the  purely  police  punishment,  in  that  it  is  not 
adjusted  by  any  measure  of  retribution,  but  must  be 
so  measured  as  always  to  appear  as  well-meant  warn- 
ing, which  does  not  excite  ill-will  toward  the  teacher. 
It  avoids  as  much  as  possible  the  positive  and  arbi- 
trary, and  limits  itself  where  it  can  to  the  natural 
consequences  of  human  action.     Rewards  are  to  be 
given  according  to  the  same  principle. 

3.  In  relation  to  the  subjective  or  determining  side  of 
character,  training  should  be  regulative  and  supporting. 
Here  the  principles  of  action  which  the  pupils  them- 
selves have,  are  taken  into  account.     Training  lets  it 
be  felt  that  it  does  not  understand  an  inconsequent 
action.     Furthermore,  it  calls  attention  to  the  crudity 
of  hap-hazard  principles  of  conduct,  but  it  never  treats 


TRAINING  97 

slightingly  what  springs  from  earnestness  of  purpose, 
even  though  it  may  deserve  and  receive  reproof. 
Training  gives  support  in  the  struggle  of  principles  to 
assert  themselves,  provided,  of  course,  that  they  de- 
serve support.  Here  authority  and  an  exact  knowl- 
edge of  the  pupil's  mind  are  important.  "  For  it  is 
precisely  the  inner  authority  of  the  child's  own  prin- 
ciples of  action  which  must  be  supplemented  and 
strengthened  by  an  external  but  exactly  similar 
authority." 

This  in  general  is  the  application  of  training  to  the 
work  of  education.  Herbart  adds  some  important 
remarks,  however,  in  reference  to  morality.  The 
memory  of  the  will  is  not  always  desirable,  for  the 
bad  may  be  remembered  as  well  as  the  good.  Train- 
ing must  seek  to  put  to  confusion  and  shame  that 
which  is  evil.  The  estimate  of  the  good-will  is  not  to 
be  determined  by  the  result  of  the  action.  In  early 
youth,  when  instruction  and  environment  invite  to 
the  first  apprehension  of  moral  truth,  Herbart  de- 
mands the  preservation  of  a  quiet,  clear  frame  of 
mind,  and  the  preservation  of  a  child-like  sense. 
That  is  harmful  which  opposes  a  natural  forgetful- 
ness  of  self.  Just  as  the  healthy  body  is  not  felt, 
so  the  care-free  child  does  not  feel  its  existence,  for 
it  should  not  make  itself  the  measure  of  the  impor- 
tance of  that  which  is  external  to  itself.  All,  then, 
which  continuously  and  actively  calls  attention  to 
self  is  harmful  for  moral  training.  These  disturb- 
ances may  arise  from  pain,  pleasure,  sickness,  and 
exciting  temperature,  bad  treatment,  frequent  teasing, 
neglect  of  needful  care,  or  from  anything  which  feeds 


98      HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

vanity  and  self-love.  Further,  in  this  period  the  ten- 
der feelings  of  the  child  must  be  protected  and  favored 
by  the  removal  of  everything  which  can  accustom  the 
imagination  to  the  morally  hateful.  This  excessive 
care  would  with  growing  years  and  moral  power  be  a 
mistake,  for  in  the  moral  as  in  the  physical  world, 
long-continued  tenderness  is  a  poor  means  of  protec- 
tion against  rigor  of  climate.  It  is  only  with  the 
negligent  educator  that  the  child  takes  up  and  imi- 
tates all  he  sees.  The  making  glad  through  deserved 
approval  is  the  fine  art  of  training. 


PART  II 

EXTENSION  AND  APPLICATION  OF  HERBART'S 
EDUCATIONAL  IDEAS  IN  GERMANY 


CHAPTER  I 

TUISKON  ZELLER  AND  KARL  VOLKMAR  STOY 
THE  Two  SCHOOLS 

THESE  two  men  are  the  pioneers  in  the  application 
of  Herbart's  theories  to  the  work  of  the  schools. 
Herbart  himself,  whose  teaching  experience  was  con- 
fined to  tutoring,  a  form  of  education  that  seems 
always  to  have  hovered  before  his  mind,  had  little 
opportunity  in  his  university  career  to  put  his  system 
into  actual  operation  in  the  school-room.  This  was 
left  to  his  successors. 

Born  about  the  same  time  and  coming  alike  under 
the  influence  of  Herbart,  both  Ziller  and  Stoy  began 
earnestly  to  reduce  his  theories  to  practice.  Each 
became  the  representative  of  a  specific  interpretation 
of  the  doctrines.  In  this  way  two  schools  arose. 
The  Stoy  school  held  to  Herbart's  theory  mostly  in 
its  original  form,  making  their  chief  work  the  appli- 
cation of  it  to  the  various  elementary  and  secondary 
schools.  Dr.  Stoy  himself  gave  most  attention  to  the 
working  out  of  the  system  in  the  elementary  schools, 
while  his  most  renowned  coadjutor,  Dr.  Otto  Frick, 
late  Director  of  the  great  Orphan  School,  or  Frankesche 

101 


102     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

Stiftungen,  established  by  Francke  in  Halle,  did  a 
monumental  work  in  applying  it  to  the  secondary 
schools,  or  gymnasiums. 

Professor  Ziller,  on  the  other  hand,  struck  out  more 
independently,  giving  a  wider  and  freer  interpretation 
to  Herbart's  ideas.  He  applied  Herbart's  principles 
for  the  selection  of  the  subject-matter  of  instruction 
with  a  freedom  that  caused  the  more  conservative  to 
gasp  with  dismay.  Not  content  with  one  master- 
stroke, he  made  another  equally  startling  to  orthodox 
educators,  by  proposing  in  all  seriousness  a  remark- 
able method  of  articulating,  coordinating  and  unifying 
instruction.  This  is  known  as  his  theory  of  CON- 
CENTRATION, an  exposition  of  which  will  be  found 
in  the  chapters  on  Ziller,  and  his  most  aggressive 
follower,  Dr.  William  Rein,  of  Jena. 

We  may  now  turn  to  a  detailed  study  of  the  leaders 
of  the  two  schools,  treating  first  Ziller  and  his  fol- 
lowers, then  Stoy  and  his  adherents,  it  being  under- 
stood that  in  some  cases  the  classification  is  a  loose 
one. 


CHAPTER  II 

TUISKON   ZILLER 
1.    LIFE  AND  WORKS 

ZILLER  was  born  on  the  22d  of  December,  1817,  at 
Wasungen,  a  village  in  Saxe-Meiningen.  He  first 
attended  the  gymnasium  in  Meiningen,  and  after- 
wards studied  philology  in  the  University  of  Leipsic. 
He  then  became  a  teacher  in  the  gymnasium  where 
he  had  once  sat  as  a  pupil.  In  1853,  however,  he 
returned  to  Leipsic  to  qualify  as  privat  docent  in  law. 
But  his  teaching  experience  in  Meiningen  had  given 
him  a  fondness  for  educational  questions,  and  in 
1856  he  published  his  first  pedagogical  essay,  Intro- 
duction to  General  Pedagogy.1  In  the  following  year 
he  issued  his  treatise  on  The  Government  of  Children,2 
which  is  an  extension  and  application  of  Herbart's 
idea,  already  described.  These  works  soon  attracted 
public  attention.  With  the  assistance  of  Dr.  C.  Barth, 
he  now  founded  in  connection  with  the  university  at 
Leipsic  a  pedagogical  seminary  and  practice  school, 
modelled  after  that  of  Herbart  at  Konigsberg.  This 

1  Einleitung  in  die  allgemeine  Padagogik. 

2  Die  Regierung  der  Kinder. 

103 


104     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

seminary  ceased  to  exist  upon  the  death  of  its  founder 
in  1883. 

In  was  in  1865  that  Ziller's  epoch-making  work, 
Basis  of  the  Doctrine  of  Instruction  as  a  Moral  Force,1 
appeared.  By  many  this  book  was  looked  upon  as  a 
stroke  of  genius.  At  any  rate  it  marks  the  begin- 
ning of  popular  interest  in  the  philosopher  Herbart, 
who  in  his  lifetime,  though  occupying  prominent 
positions,  had  been  thrown  into  the  background  by 
the  more  dazzling  philosophical  systems  of  idealism 
founded  by  Kant,  Fichte,  Schelling,  and  Hegel.  As 
an  index  of  the  newly  awakened  interest,  the  Her- 
bart Association,  under  the  title,  Verein  fur  Wissen- 
schaftliche  Padagogik,  was  founded  in  1868,  with 
Professor  Ziller  at  its  head.  The  Verein  has  since 
spread  all  over  Germany,  and  numbers  many  hundreds 
of  adherents.  It  is,  for  the  most  part,  broken  up  into 
local  clubs  for  the  study  of  educational  problems  from 
the  Herbartian  standpoint.  Lectures  on  General  Ped- 
agogy,2 a  text-book  on  educational  theory,  appeared  in 
1876 ;  and  in  1881,  Ziller's  last  work,  General  Philo- 
sophical Ethics,3  was  published.  He  died  in  1883  at 
the  age  of  sixty-six  years,  having  been  for  a  long  time 
a  sufferer  from  severe  physical  ailments. 

2.   ZILLER'S  INTERPRETATION  OF  HERBART 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  ultimate  outcome 
of  Ziller's  work,  it  deserves  respect  as  the  most  thor- 

1  Grundlegung  zur  Lehre  vom  erziehenden  Unterricht. 

2  Vorlesungen  iiber  allgemeine  Padagogik. 
*  Allgemeine  philosophische  Ethik. 


TUISKON   ZILLER  105 

ough  going  attempt  ever  made  to  answer  the  ques- 
tion, How  may  instruction  in  the  common  school 
become  an  instrument  for  the  development  of  moral 
character  ?  It  can  scarcely  be  denied  that  Ziller  is 
thoroughly  Herbartian  in  his  foundations.  He  asks 
three  questions  as  follows  :  — 

1.  What  must  be  selected  from  human  knowledge 
as  the  subject-matter  of  instruction  ? 

2.  How  must  these  studies  be  coordinated  so  as  to 
conduce  to  the  most  perfect  mastery  of  knowledge, 
the  clearest  insight  into  moral  relations,  and  the  for- 
mation of  the  highest  moral  ideals,  the  best   moral 
disposition,  the  best  moral  habits  ? 

3.  What  method  of  teaching  will  best  further  the 
above-named  ends  ? 

About  the  investigation  of  these  three  subjects  one 
may,  with  unimportant  exceptions,  group  all  that 
Ziller  wrote.  His  guiding  principles,  taken  directly 
from  Herbart,  were  as  follows :  — 

1.  The   conception  of  moral  training  through   in- 
struction in  the  common-school  branches,  keeping  the 
five  moral  ideas  in  close  touch  with  the  content  of 
the  various  studies. 

2.  The  apperception  of  children,  or  their  natural 
thought-processes  founded  upon  acquired  knowledge 
and  social  experience,  as  the  only  reliable  guide  to 
the  selection  and  arrangement  of   studies,  together 
with  the  best  methods  of  teaching  them. 

3.  The  necessity  of  developing  in  the  pupils  an  in- 
herent, far-reaching,  and  abiding  interest  in  study  as 
a  moral  revelation  of  the  world. 

These  are  the  basal  ideas  from  which  he  proceeds 


106     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

and  to  which  he  ever  returns.  Through  the  524  pages 
of  the  Grundlegung  and  the  428  of  the  Allgemeine 
Pddagogik,  aside  from  a  few  incidentals,  he  labors  at 
the  solution  of  the  three  problems  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  three  fundamental  ideas. 

The  contents  of  the  Grundlegung  are  as  follows :  — • 

(a)  The  Relation  of  Instruction  to  Government  and  (moral) 
Training. 

§  1.    Government  and  Instruction. 

§  2.    Two  Kinds  of  Instruction. 

§  3.  Social  and  Religious  Associations  in  their  Relation  to 
Instruction. 

§  4.  The  School  as  a  Place  for  Moral  Training. 

§  5.   The  Compass  of  Instruction. 

§  6.    Relation  of  Instruction  to  Moral  Training  in  General. 

§  7.   The  Art  of  Instruction, 
etc. ,  etc. ,  etc. 

(6)  Specific  Ends  of  Instruction. 

§  12  &  §  13.   Interest  and  Desire. 

§  14.  Direct  in  Relation  to  Indirect  Interest  and  to  Love. 

§  15.  Many-sided  Interest  as  a  Protection  against  Passion- 
ate Desire. 

§  16.   As  an  Aid  to  Occupation. 

§  17.   As  a  Means  of  Rescue  against  the  Storms  of  Fate. 

§  18.   As  a  Means  of  Perfection. 

§  19.   As  related  to  Personality. 

§  20.    As  related  to  Individuality. 

The  importance  of  each  of  the  three  lines  of  investi- 
gation regarding  the  choice,  arrangement,  and  treat- 
ment of  the  various  studies  warrants  a  presentation 
in  separate  chapters. 


CHAPTER  III 

ZILLER'S  THEORY  OP  THE  HISTORICAL  STAGES  OF 
CULTURE 

WITHOUT  considering  in  detail  the  contents  of  the 
separate  chapters  of  the  Grundlegung,  we  may  proceed 
at  once  to  his  treatment  of  the  first  of  the  three  great 
questions  of  teaching :  — 

1.  What  shall  be  the  subject-matter  ? 

2.  How  shall  it  be  articulated  ? 

3.  What  shall  be  the  method  of  instruction  ? 
Taking  up  the  first  of  these  topics,  Ziller  begins  by 

classifying  the  school  studies  into  two  groups,  those 
that  pertain  to  man,  and  those  that  pertain  to  nature. 
The  humanistic  group  comprises  (1)  history,  sacred 
and  profane,  (2)  literature,  (3)  art,  as  drawing  and 
music,  (4)  languages,  native  and  foreign.  The  group 
of  nature  studies  consists  of  (1)  geography,  (2) 
natural  history,  physics  and  chemistry,  (3)  arith- 
metic, (4)  geometry,  (5)  practical  exercises,  and  (6) 
gymnastics. 

Ignoring  for  the  time  being  the  nature  studies, 
Ziller  seeks  a  principle  of  selection  and  development 
for  the  humanistic,  or  culture  branches. 

107 


108  HERBART  AND   THE   HERBARTIANS 

The  first  factor  in  the  problem  appears  to  be  the 
fact  that  we  have  to  do  with  a  developing  mind.  In 
no  two  years  of  his  life  are  the  knowledge,  appre- 
hending power,  ruling  interests,  or  educational  needs 
of  the  child  the  same.  He  goes  somewhat  rapidly 
through  a  succession  of  epochs  in  his  mental  develop- 
ment. It  is  not  sufficient  to  demonstrate  merely  that 
the  child  passes  through  a  succession  of  stages  in  his 
mental  unfolding ;  we  must  have  some  idea  of  the 
nature  of  the  development  he  goes  through  if  we  are 
to  succeed  in  finding  the  best  possible  adjustment  of 
subject-matter  to  these  stages.  The  current  concep- 
tion of  this  matter  is  that  it  is  the  faculties  that  un- 
fold in  succession,  —  perception,  then  imagination,  then 
memory,  then  reason,  etc.,  —  so  that  our  American 
pedagogy,  in  so  far  as  it  has  any  doctrine  at  all  upon 
the  subject,  teaches  us  in  a  general  way  to  follow  this 
order  in  the  presentation  of  topics.  It  is  conceivable, 
further,  that  the  stages  of  the  child's  development 
follow  the  natural  unfolding  of  the  subjects  of  study 
according  to  some  logical  principle,  as,  for  instance, 
the  order  of  evolution  in  biological  sciences,  or  that  of 
increase  in  complexity  of  numerical  relations,  as  in 
mathematics.  Were  this  the  case,  the  key  to  the 
presentation  of  studies  would  be  the  most  logical  un- 
folding of  the  various  studies  as  relatively  completed 
sciences.  This  view,  however,  meets  with  serious 
difficulties.  The  philosophic  order  of  complete  systems 
may  not  correspond  to  the  natural  psychological  order 
of  learning,  especially  with  children.  What  naturalist, 
for  instance,  wishing  to  give  a  child  a  knowledge  of 
nature  and  love  for  the  study,  would  begin  with  a 


HISTORICAL  STAGES  OF   CULTURE  109 

microscopic  investigation  of  undifferentiated  proto- 
plasm, or  monera  of  scarcely  distinguishable  forms  ? 
Nothing  in  the  child's  former  experience,  interest,  or 
knowledge  would  throw  a  particle  of  light  on  the  sub- 
ject. Would  he  not,  rather,  begin  with  the  familiar 
animals  of  field  and  forest?  The  child's  develop- 
ment is  at  all  events  psychological,  and  it  is  plain 
that  the  logical  order  of  developed  sciences  is  not 
parallel  with  it.  We  must,  therefore,  look  further  for 
the  true  principle  of  apperception  in  the  mind  of  the 
growing  child. 

The  thought  over  which  Ziller  most  loved  to  linger, 
and  for  which  he  cites  a  host  of  witnesses,  is  the  some- 
what poetic  idea,  which  certainly  has  biological  anal- 
ogy, that  each  child  in  his  development  from  infancy 
to  manhood  passes  through  the  same  general  stages 
that  the  race  has  passed  through  in  its  rise  from 
savagery  to  civilization.  This  is  the  argument :  Just 
as  the  embryo  of  one  of  the  higher  animals  shows 
unmistakable  evidence  of  passing  through  all  the  es- 
sential stages  of  development  manifested  by  lower 
orders,  so  the  child  in  his  mental  evolution  passes 
through,  in  little,  all  the  great  culture  epochs  that 
have  marked  the  development  of  the  race.  This  is 
Ziller's  famous  doctrine  of  the  historical  stages  of 
culture.  If,  therefore,  one  would  appeal  to  the  under- 
standing of  the  child,  or  touch  the  springs  of  his  in- 
terest, or  portray  to  him  ethical  relations  capable  of 
claiming  his  attention,  one  should  be  mindful  of  these 
epochs.  We  are  fond  of  thinking  of  education  as  the 
process  of  realizing  in  each  individual  the  experience 
of  the  race,  but  we  have  not  emphasized  the  idea  that 


110     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

the  child  can  best  get  this   experience   in  the   same 
order  that  the  race  obtained  it. 

The  following  from  Dr.  Rein's  Outlines  of  Pedagogics 1 
gives  a  clear  view  of  the  matter  as  conceived  by  the 
Ziller  school.  "These  considerations  turn  us  back 
from  the  complicated  relations  of  the  present,  which 
are  more  difficult  to  grasp,  to  past  times,  which  are 
more  simple,  more  easily  understood,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  more  easily  adaptable  to  the  conceptive  power  of 
the  young  mind.  From  this  standpoint  the  material 
for  the  instruction  that  is  to  mould  character  should  be 
sought  in  the  development  of  the  national  culture,  which 
is  to  be  followed  in  its  chief  epochs.  It  should  be 
presented  from  its  very  beginnings,  i.e.,  from  the  point 
at  which  a  constant  progress  is  apparent,  up  to  the 
present.  This  idea,  which,  agreeably  to  its  content, 
we  may  call  the  principle  of  historical  culture,  also 
harmonizes,  as  we  shall  see  at  once,  with  the  psycho- 
logical requirement  that  the  subject-matter  in  each 
case  correspond  to  the  child's  stage  of  apperception. 
The  material  and  the  formal  points  of  view  coincide. 
A  people  does  riot  rise  at  once  to  a  definite  height  of 
culture ;  centuries  of  zealous,  universal  labor  are  neces- 
sary before  the  height  can  be  reached.  It  must  climb 
from  lower  to  ever  higher  stages;  must  pass  from 
simpler  to  ever  more  complicated  relations  in  order 
to  satisfy  the  bent  for  improvement  and  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  kingdom  of  God  upon  earth.  And  the 
individual,  the  same  as  the  people,  rises  in  his  de- 
velopment from  lower  to  ever  higher  stages,  from 

1  Syracuse,  N.  Y. :  C.  W.  Bardeen,  1893. 


HISTORICAL   STAGES   OF  CULTURE  111 

simpler  to  ever  richer  mental  contents,  if  only  his 
ideal  tendency  be  not  smothered  by  material  sensual- 
ity or  by  the  feeling  that  he  has  already  attained  a 
fine  height.  Thus  we  must  accept  on  the  one  hand 
historical,  on  the  other  hand  individual,  stages  of 
development,  or  apperception.  It  is  obvious  that  if 
the  two  series  —  the  historical,  with  its  various  cult- 
ural materials ;  and  the  personal,  with  its  manifold 
ideas,  wishes,  and  desires  —  can  be  brought  success- 
fully and  accurately  into  harmony  with  each  other, 
one  can  undoubtedly  get  control  of  the  scholar's  inter- 
est, because  by  this  means  the  psychological  conditions 
would  be  best  established.  The  development  of  the 
individual  is  nourished  on  the  development  of  the 
whole.  Whenever  a  subject  can  claim  the  height  of 
interest,  it  enters  into  the  thoughts  of  the  child  ;  being 
expected,  it  is  welcome,  and  the  direct  interest  makes 
its  appearance  provided  the  teacher  possess  the  neces- 
sary art  of  instruction.  As  a  matter  of  course,  the 
most  careful  selection  of  material  is  useless  when 
there  is  a  lack  of  skill.  But  this  careful  selection  of 
subject-matter  will  give  the  teacher  unsuspected  assist- 
ance as  soon  as  he  understands  it. 

"  We  find  that  this  idea  of  the  analogy  between  the 
individual  and  general  development  of  humanity  is  a 
common  possession  of  the  best  and  most  noted  intel- 
lects. It  appears,  for  example,  in  the  works  of  the 
literary  heroes  Lessing,  Herder,  Goethe,  and  Schiller; 
with  the  philosophers  Kant,  Fichte,  Schelling,  Hegel, 
Comte ;  with  the  theologians  Clement  of  Alexandria, 
Augustine,  Schleiermacher ;  with  the  Darwinists  Hux- 
ley and  Spencer ;  with  the  classical  philologists  F.  A. 


112     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

Wolf,  Niethaminer,  Dissen,  Lubker;  with  the  educators 
Rousseau,  Pestalozzi,  Froebel,  Diesterweg,  Herbart, 
Ziller,  and  others. 

"  From  the  large  number  of  voices  let  us  select  but 
two,  Goethe  and  Kant.  The  former  said  :  '  Although 
the  world  in  general  advances,  the  youth  must  always 
start  again  from  the  beginning,  and,  as  an  individual, 
traverse  the  epochs  of  the  world's  culture.'  The  latter 
points  out  that  the  education  of  the  individual  should 
imitate  the  culture  of  mankind  in  general,  as  developed 
in  its  various  generations." 1 

If,  therefore,  we  are  to  regard  this  principle  as  sub- 
stantially true,  if  there  is  in  reality  such  a  parallelism 
between  the  successive  stages  of  the  child's  mental 
growth  and  the  culture  epochs  of  the  race  as  this 
theory  claims,  then,  as  Ziller  and  Kein  declare,  a 
striking  advantage  at  once  comes  to  view,  the  psy- 
chological principle  coincides  with  the  historical  one 
of  the  material  of  study,  so  that  without  further 
search  we  have  a  common  guide  to  the  development 
of  the  several  culture  branches. 

What  shall  be  done  with  the  nature-studies  is  an- 
other story,  which  can  be  told  only  when  we  con- 
sider the  subject  of  correlation,  or  CONCENTRATION,  as 
Ziller  calls  it. 

This  idea  of  the  culture-stages  was  foreshadowed 
by  Herbart  when  he  insisted  that  Greek  should  come 
before  Latin  because  it  corresponds  more  closely  to  the 
child's  comprehension  and  interest,  also  when  he  said : 
"Periods  which  no  master  has  described,  whose  spirit 
no  poet  breathes,  are  of  little  value  to  education." 2 

1  Outlines  of  Pedagogics,  pp.  96-98. 
2Herbart's  Science  of  Education,  p.  74. 


CHAPTER  IV 

ZILLER'S   THEORY    OF    CONCENTRATION   OF   STUDIES 

THE  progress  of  the  thought  will  now  be  best  com- 
prehended by  taking  up  the  second  grand  topic :  — 

WHAT    PRINCIPLE    SHALL    GOVERN    THE    ARTICULATION, 
OR   COORDINATION    OF    THE   VARIOUS    STUDIES  ? 

Why,  first  of  all,  should  we  strive  for  any  coordina- 
tion of  studies  ?  Chiefly  for  three  reasons,  say  the 
Herbartians,  two  psychological  and  one  ethical. 

1.  Instead  of  regarding  the  self,  or  "  I,"  as  an 
empty  point  of  personality,  the  same  whether  rich  or 
barren  in  experience,  whether  ignorant  or  learned,  we 
may  think  of  the  self,  or  ego,  as  a  constantly  growing, 
developing  somewhat,  whose  true  unity,  or  individu- 
ality, depends  upon  the  unity  that  exists  in  its  knowl- 
edge and  experience  in  general.  Abstracting  the 
content  of  my  mental  life,  I  am  I  only  in  the  sense 
that  an  unrealized  possibility  is  equal  to  nothing  else ; 
but  not  abstracting  from  what  I  know  and  feel  and 
do,  I  am  /  to  the  extent  that  conscious  unity  exists 
among  the  various  elements  of  my  mental  life.  If 
my  ideas  cannot  be  related  when  they  pertain  to 
related  things,  to  this  extent  I  fail  to  realize  my  true 
being.  One  of  the  forms  of  insanity  is  plurality  of 

113 


114     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

mental  existence.  But  this  unity  depends  upon 
proper  correlation  of  ideas.  The  elements  in  the 
content  of  our  mental  life  must  be  so  organized  that 
unity  of  knowledge  and  consistency  of  feeling  and 
volition  may  arise.  Our  interests  grow  out  of  our 
knowledge  ;  our  feelings,  desires,  and  motives  are  the 
natural  consequence  of  our  interests ;  our  wills  strive 
to  realize  the  good  to  self  revealed  by  motives  based 
on  knowledge.  Symmetrical  character  is  hardly  con- 
ceivable aside  from  symmetrical,  coordinated  knowl- 
edge. A  man  may  indeed  rule  powerfully  within  a 
small  range  of  concepts  of  which  he  is  master,  but  put 
him  into  situations  that  he  does  not  understand,  and 
his  customary  strength  becomes  weakness.  Much  of 
a  proper  correlation  of  knowledge  comes  to  us  spon- 
taneously in  spite  of  teacher  or  text-book,  yet  it  is 
easily  conceivable  that  a  proper  progress  in  the 
sequence  of  topics  in  each  subject,  together  with  a 
happy  juxtaposition  of  the  related  parts  of  all  sub- 
jects, might  aid  materially  in  bringing  our  knowledge 
into  a  substantial  unity.  If  each  subject  is  to  be  an 
errant  comet,  pursuing  its  path  independent  of  the 
others  —  if,  in  other  words,  disorganization  and  isola- 
tion of  topics  is  to  rule  in  our  instruction  —  it  is  plain 
that  the  desirable  unity  of  knowledge  will  not  only  not 
be  promoted,  but  will  actually  be  hindered ;  that  con- 
sequently the  teacher,  in  spite  of  his  pious  wish  for 
the  highest  welfare  of  the  pupil,  may  aid  in  making 
him  a  dependent  being,  whose  unrelated  knowledge 
does  him  little  or  no  good.  Our  desire  to  develop  the 
individuality  and  power  of  the  pupil  can  find  its  best 
realization,  so  far  as  instruction  is  concerned,  in  the 


CONCENTRATION   OF   STUDIES  116 

best  possible  coordination  of  all  the  subjects  that  we 
teach.  The  first  purpose  of  the  coordination  of  studies 
is,  therefore,  the  promotion  of  true  unity  and  con- 
sistency in  our  mental  life  through  instruction. 

2.  In  the  next  place,  knowledge  gained  at  school 
may  mean  much  or  little  for  our  subsequent  careers. 
According  to  the  formal-culture  idea,  the  result  of  the 
training  is  largely  independent  of  knowledge  retained 
or  interests  awakened.  If  the  urchin  only  "  buckles 
to  "  and  learns  his  lesson,  he  may  forget  it  as  soon  as 
he  likes  :  the  advantage  is  still  his,  for  he  has  had  the 
discipline.  There  is,  however,  another  way  of  looking 
at  these  matters,  and  that  is  this :  if  the  lad  remem- 
bers little  of  what  he  learns ;  if  having  learned  to  read, 
he  cares  little  for  useful  reading;  if  having  been 
forced  to  acquire  a  certain  mass  of  knowledge,  no 
permanent  effect  remains  upon  his  interests,  tastes, 
or  pursuits,  then  this  formal  training  upon  which  we 
pride  ourselves  is  practically  worthless.  It  would 
have  been  better  to  let  the  boy  pursue  those  occupa- 
tions in  which  he  had  some  interest,  for  only  where 
there  is  interest  in  things  learned  can  profit  result. 
This  is  Ziller's  view.  Now,  the  coordination  of 
studies  means  their  correlation ;  that  is,  it  means  that 
it  shall  enable  the  pupil  in  one  way  or  another  to 
become  conscious  of  useful  and  interesting  relations 
among  the  various  topics  of  the  various  studies. 
Every  child  is  sure  to  be  interested  in  something,  so 
that  if  he  can  see  that  other  things  are  related  to  his 
favorite  ones,  life  at  once  broadens  before  him.  This 
basis  of  interest  in  study  is  laid  when  the  child  finds 
in  the  subject-matter  of  instruction  that  which  appeals 


116     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

to  his  own  thinking  as  valuable.  He  must  under- 
stand it,  therefore,  primarily,  in  its  relation  to  him- 
self. The  richer  the  content  in  his  eyes,  the  more 
varied  and  intimate  the  relations  that  are  revealed  to 
him,  the  warmer  is  his  interest,  the  more  willingly 
he  pursues  study  for  its  value  in  promoting  the  things 
of  which  he  is  most  fond.  Is  it  not  plain,  therefore, 
that  the  more  knowledge  is  knit  together,  the  more 
light  one  subject  throws  upon  another,  the  richer 
will  be  his  apprehension  and  the  warmer  his  interest  ? 
For  the  reason,  consequently,  that  coordination  of 
studies  promises  to  increase  rapidly  the  pupil's  power 
of  apprehension  and  to  promote  his  direct  interest 
in  what  the  school  has  to  offer  him,  it  seems  worth 
working  for. 

3.  It  has  been  stated  that  there  is  one  ethical  rea- 
son for  the  coordination  of  studies.  This,  too,  is  an 
outcome  of  the  new  way  of  looking  at  psychology.  A 
favorite  notion  with  Germans,  and  perhaps  with  all 
Christian  people,  is  that  the  school  ought  to  develop 
the  moral  and  religious  character  of  pupils.  The  old 
way  took  but  little  note  of  the  studies  of  the  school 
as  implements  for  this  training,  but  relied  mainly  on 
authority,  first  of  the  Scriptures,  and  then  of  teachers, 
parents,  etc.  This  is  the  natural  outcome  of  a  psycho- 
logical system  of  independent  "faculties."  But  Ziller's 
view  of  which  I  am  writing,  not  underestimating  the 
value  of  the  old  training,  adds,  as  we  have  often  seen, 
the  important  thought  that  the  common  school  studies 
themselves  may  become  no  mean  instruments  for  ethi- 
cal culture.  This  idea  is  a  natural  outcome  of  the 
notion  that  interests,  desires,  and  motives  are  formed 


CONCENTRATION  OF  STUDIES  117 

in  consequence  of  ideas  gained  through  study  and  ob- 
servation, and  that  consequently  the  will  itself  is 
directly  dependent  upon  ideas,  or  knowledge,  for  its 
field  of  activity.  To  bring  about  unity  or  consistency 
in  our  volitional  acts,  therefore,  it  would  seem  that 
the  body  of  knowledge  in  which  volition  has  its  roots 
should  be  unified  to  the  greatest  practicable  extent. 
If  knowledge  lies  in  isolated  tracts,  it  has  in  the  first 
place  little  cumulative  effect  upon  the  motives  of  the 
child ;  and  in  the  second  place,  even  if  each  separate 
tract  should  give  rise  to  its  own  little  round  of  inter- 
ests and  motives,  there  is  small  probability  that  the 
resulting  acts  of  will  would  of  themselves  drop  into  a 
coordinated  line  of  consistent  actions.  Dr.  Kein  sums 
the  matter  up  as  follows  :  "  The  ethical  need  demands 
that  the  teacher  shall  endeavor  to  concentrate  the 
spiritual  forces  of  the  pupil,  so  that  they  shall  not  be 
dissipated,  but  shall  in  their  union  call  forth  strong, 
effective  action.  Without  such  concentration  of  men- 
tal forces  no  moral  character  is  conceivable.  But  if  the 
pupil  is  to  be  able  to  effect  this  concentration  of  his 
powers,  the  greatest  care  must  be  taken  that  his  men- 
tal store  be  not  broken  up  into  disconnected  parts,  but 
unified  to  the  greatest  possible  extent." 

There  is,  in  addition  to  these  theoretical  grounds,  a 
practical  reason  for  the  proper  coordination  of  studies, 
that  should  cause  us  to  listen  to  all  serious  proposi- 
tions looking  to  that  end.  It  is  universally  acknowl- 
edged that  our  present  curriculum,  if  not  already  badly 
congested,  is  likely  soon  to  become  so.  Subject  after 
subject  has  been  added,  not  from  any  demonstrated 
pedagogical  need,  but  in  obedience  to  popular  demands 


118     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

or  to  the  professional  zeal  of  specialists.  The  process 
is  still  continuing.  Not  only  each  newly-developed 
branch  of  useful  knowledge,  but  even  every  popular 
social  reform  (scientific  temperance,  for  instance)  de- 
mands a  representation  in  the  school-room.  The  result 
is  often  a  detrimental  atomization  of  the  pupil's  time 
and  attention.  Not  having  time  to  digest  any  subject 
thoroughly,  he  soon  becomes  a  mere  taster  in  all  learn- 
ing. The  initial  stages  of  our  educational  progress 
were  brought  about  by  men  like  Comenius  and  Pesta- 
lozzi,  who  were  impelled  more  by  their  sympathies  and 
instincts  than  by  clear,  analytical  thinking ;  it  would 
seem  that  we  are  still  following  our  instincts  to  put 
into  the  school  everything  good  in  itself,  but  that  we 
are  taking  little  heed  of  the  effect  upon  the  child. 
Nothing  appears  more  essential  to  our  further  advance, 
therefore,  than  a  rigid  examination  of  the  curriculum, 
that  indispensable  parts  may  be  properly  related  and 
needless  ones  eliminated. 

Some  of  the  reasons  why  coordination  of  studies  is 
desirable  having  been  examined  briefly,  the  interesting 
question  now  arises,  How  is  the  coordination  to  be 
effected  ?  Ziller's  plan  is  one  of  concentration  about 
a  core  of  culture  material.  This  core  about  which  the 
work  of  each  successive  grade  is  to  be  concentrated  is 
to  be  composed  of  the  studies  that  have  the  greatest 
moral  content,  or  practical  value  in  bringing  about  the 
moral  revelation  of  the  world  in  the  mind  of  the  child. 
They  constitute  the  material  that  serves  best  to  culti- 
vate ideals  and  disposition,  being  called,  indeed,  Gesin- 
nungs-Stojf.1  History  and  literature  naturally  consti- 

1  That  is,  material  that  serves  to  cultivate  right  disposition. 


CONCENTRATION  OF  STUDIES  119 

tute  the  core  of  concentration,  the  one  narrating  the 
actual  progress  of  the  race,  the  other  picturing  ethical 
conflict  in  imaginative  forms.  Both  are  concrete,  al- 
lowing direct  access  to  the  ideas  they  portray,  whereas 
languages  have  a  bar  of  grammatical  and  other  forms 
separating  the  student  from  the  ideas. 

Taking  advantage  of  the  fact  that  Biblical  history 
is  everywhere  taught  in  German  schools,  Ziller  elabo- 
rated a  double  historical  course  for  them,  the  one 
Jewish,  the  other  German.  His  only  serious  attempt 
to  utilize  literature  proper,  as  a  factor  of  this  course, 
is  found  in  the  early  years,  where  he  selects  twelve  of 
Grimm's  fairy  tales  for  the  first  grade,  and  Kobinson 
Crusoe  for  the  second.  The  followers  of  Ziller  still 
adhere  somewhat  rigidly  to  his  selections.  Later,  the 
Niebelungen  Lieder  and  some  of  the  Thiiringer  Sagen 
are  used,  but  after  this,  not  much  attention  is  paid  to 
literature  as  such.  In  the  double  historical  series, 
effort  is  made  to  adjust  the  work  for  each  year  to  the 
corresponding  epochs  in  Jewish  and  German  history. 
The  following  is  the  order  of  topics :  First  year, 
Grimm's  Fairy  Tales  ;  second  year,  Robinson  Crusoe ; 
third  year,  (1)  Bible  Stories  from  the  Time  of  the 
Patriarchs,  (2)  Legends  of  Thuringia  (Thiiringer 
Sagen)  ;  fourth  year,  (1)  Bible  Stories  from  the 
Time  of  the  Judges,  then  of  the  Kings,  (2)  Niebelun- 
gen  Tales  ;  fifth  year,  (1)  Bible  Stories  from  the  Time 
of  Christ,  (2)  History  of  Henry  I.,  Otto  I.,  Charle- 
magne ;  sixth  year,  (1)  Bible  Stories  from  the  Time 
of  Christ,  continued,  (2)  Migration  of  the  Nations, 
Eoman  Empire  and  the  Popes,  the  Crusades,  the  Mid- 
dle Ages,  Rudolph  von  Hapsburg ;  seventh  year,  (1) 


120     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

The  Original  Congregations  of  Churches,  and  the 
Apostle  Paul,  (2)  Discovery  of  America  and  its  First 
Settlement,  History  of  the  Reformation,  the  Thirty 
Years'  War;  eighth  year,  (1)  Instruction  in  the  Cate- 
chism, (2)  Frederic  the  Great,  the  Napoleonic  Wars 
for  Independence,  the  Restoration  of  the  German 
Empire. 

Having  decided  what  the  core  of  concentration  shall 
be,  Ziller  has  now  to  show  how  the  remainder  of  the 
instruction  can  be  grouped  about  the  topics  in  the 
leading  studies  from  grade  to  grade.  In  the  first 
place,  how  shall  the  languages  be  disposed  of  ?  If 
human  deeds,  both  real  and  ideal,  must  of  necessity 
be  the  expression  of  the  ethical  forces  at  work  in  the 
world,  it  is  clear  that  language  is  essential  for  their 
preservation  and  transmission.  In  language,  there- 
fore, we  find  the  embodiment  of  the  ethical,  so  that 
language  study  is  merely  the  formal  aspect  of  this 
culture  side  of  the  curriculum.  It  ought  consequently 
to  lend  itself,  at  least  to  some  extent,  to  the  same 
principle  of  development.  Language  being  only  the 
vehicle  of  thought,  may  naturally  be  made  to  follow 
the  development  of  thought.  In  this  case  language 
would  have  to  be  studied  as  a  means  for  the  expres- 
sion and  comprehension  of  thought,  not  as  an  end  in 
itself.  Except  for  minor  culture  subjects,  like  draw- 
ing and  singing,  this,  for  the  present,  disposes  of  the 
first  or  humanistic  group,  so  far  as  the  principle  of 
concentration  is  concerned.  For  a  detailed  program 
arranged  in  harmony  with  this  idea,  we  must  wait  for 
the  man  who  now  wears  Ziller's  mantle,  Dr.  Wilhelm 
Rein,  Professor  of  Pedagogy  at  the  University  of  Jena. 


CONCENTRATION  OF  STUDIES  121 

We  come  now  to  what  may  prove  the  Achilles  ten- 
don of  Ziller's  system.  At  all  events,  it  is  the  most 
critical  point  —  What  shall  be  done  with  the  nature- 
studies  ? 

Having  confessedly  no  moral  content,  they  can  at 
best  be  used  only  as  instruments  for  moral  training. 
Yet  they  must  be  concentrated  about  the  historical 
epochs  of  culture.  The  performance  of  this  task, 
though  seemingly  artificial,  is  not  impossible.  The 
second  group  constitutes  geography,  nature-studies, 
and  mathematics.  The  difficulty  now  with  concen- 
tration is,  not  only  that  nature-studies  have  no  moral 
content  related  to  the  core  of  concentration,  but  also 
that  they  have  no  useful  historical  principle  of  devel- 
opment. These  are  difficulties  to  the  Ziller  school, 
yet  not  insurmountable  obstacles. 

The  path  of  the  progress  of  science  has  been  that 
which  leads  out  of  darkness  into  light,  from  error 
to  truth.  Who  would,  for  instance,  seriously  teach 
alchemy  before  chemistry,  or  astrology  before  as- 
tronomy ?  We  are  fond,  indeed,  of  telling  our  pupils 
about  these  beginnings  of  science,  but  we  speak  of 
them  rather  as  items  of  interesting  information  than 
as  necessary  to  an  understanding  of  science  as  it  exists 
to-day. 

Something  can  be  done,  however,  in  the  way  of 
practical  concentration.  If,  as  was  seen  above,  the 
logical  order  of  science  as  a  relatively  completed  sys- 
tem of  knowledge  is  not  a  safe  guide  to  its  presenta- 
tion, we  may  fall  back  on  the  psychological  principle 
of  apperception,  and  present  it  in  any  way  that  will 
appeal  to  the  child's  interest  and  understanding. 


122     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

It  has  long  been  a  favorite  idea  with  teachers  that 
geography  should  be  correlated  with  history.  Not 
only  must  history  have  a  place  in  which  to  unfold, 
but  the  unfolding  itself  has  to  a  large  extent  been  de- 
pendent upon  the  geographical  features  of  the  country 
—  its  mountains,  plains,  rivers,  seacoasts,  forests,  and 
climate.  Geography  as  a  basis  for  history  is  now 
becoming  an  important  subject  of  study  in  German 
Universities.  It  may  be  added  also  that  it  is  of  much 
importance  in  the  biological  sciences.  Thus  one  might 
study  the  Alps  as  a  seat  of  history,  at  the  same  time 
devoting  a  part  of  his  attention  to  Alpine  flora  and 
fauna.  In  a  sense,  then,  geography  forms  a  link  to 
bind  together  the  deeds  of  man  and  the  facts  of  na- 
ture. In  a  still  larger  sense,  geography  unites  nature 
and  man.  In  these  modern  times,  commerce  binds 
the  whole  world  together.  A  man  in  the  Northwest 
may  exchange  his  wheat  for  the  product  of  any  land 
under  the  sun.  He  contributes  to  the  world  what  he 
raises,  and  the  world  stands  ready  to  give  him  some- 
thing of  everything  in  return. 

It  is  geography  that  first  makes  the  child  conscious 
of  the  reciprocity  that  exists  in  the  world,  for  it  shows 
him  in  a  concrete  way,  through  a  study  of  productions, 
populations,  transportation,  and  the  like,  how  each 
man,  by  the  division  of  labor,  works  for  all  men,  and 
is  in  turn  served  by  all  men  to  the  extent  of  the  value 
of  his  own  contribution. 

Geography,  then,  connects  history  and  science,  also 
revealing  the  most  concrete  modes  of  human  reciproc- 
ity. It  is,  therefore,  the  natural  link  binding  purely 
humanistic  and  purely  scientific  studies.  Following 


CONCENTRATION  OF  STUDIES  123 

this  hint,  Ziller  does  not  find  it  difficult  to  discover 
some  sort  of  connection  between  the  leading  and  the 
subordinate  subjects.  Dr.  Eein  calls  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  will  puts  itself  into  relation  to  nature  in 
order  to  bring  it  into  the  service  of  man ;  that  human 
action  is  limited  by  moral  rules  and  by  the  nature  of 
things.  Obedience  to  moral  ideals  limits  the  will  as 
to  ends,  while  obedience  to  the  nature  of  things  limits 
the  will  as  to  means.  The  ends  for  which  men  work, 
and  the  means  whereby  they  do  it,  should  be  brought 
to  the  mind  simultaneously. 

Finally,  mathematics  bears  the  same  relation  to 
science  that  language  does  to  the  humanistic  studies. 
It  is  their  formal  side.  If  its  real  function  is  made 
apparent,  and  its  application  sufficiently  concrete, 
enough  correlation  can  be  brought  about  to  hold  the 
pupil's  interest  for  number  and  to  enhance  his  interest 
in  that  which  number  measures. 

That  the  Anglo-Saxon  teacher  who  may  be  curious 
to  know  how  this  arrangement  of  culture-  and  nature- 
studies  would  look  in  English,  may  be  gratified,  the 
following  outline  of  single  coordinated  groups  is  in- 
serted. It  is  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Frank  McMurry, 
formerly  Professor  of  Pedagogy  in  the  University  of 
Illinois. 

FIRST  GRADE 

Literature:  The  Fir  Tree,  Andersen. 

Science:  (a)  White  Pine  as  a  type  of  evergreens,  since  it  is 
more  common  here  than  any  other  evergreen  tree. 
(6)  Austrian  Pine. 

(c)  Scotch  Pine. 

(d)  Norway  Spruce. 


124     HERB  ART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

(e)  Balsam  Fir. 

Beading:  "A  Pine  Twig"  and  "Story  of  a  Pine  Tree," 
in  Nature  Stories  for  Young  Readers.  Also  sentences  on  the 
board  taken  from  the  Science  and  Literature  work,  like  those 
immediately  following :  — 

Written  Language:  Sentences  based  on  Literature,  thus:  — 

The  fir  tree  lived  in  the  forest. 

It  was  not  happy. 

It  wished  to  be  tall. 

A  little  rabbit  sometimes  jumped  over  the  tree. 

This  made  the  tree  ashamed. 

Or  based  on  Science,  thus :  — 

The  fir  tree  is  green  all  winter. 

Sometimes  the  snow  covers  it. 

Then  it  is  a  white  tree. 

The  snow  does  not  break  the  limbs.    They  bend  down. 

See  how  they  are  fastened  into  the  trunk. 

I  cannot  break  off  the  twigs. 

Writing :  (All  the  small  letters  this  year.) 

If  the  children  are  ready  to  study  r,  take  the  words  fir, 
rabbit,  green,  tree. 

If  some  other  letter  should  be  studied,  similar  groups  of 
words  bearing  on  the  study  of  the  fir  will  suggest  themselves  to 
the  teacher. 

Drawing :  (a)  Drawing  of  pines  and  firs,  with  colored  chalk 
or  crayon. 

(6)  Drawing,  and  sewing  in  perforated  board,  of  evergreen 
trees,  of  cones,  and  of  rabbit. 

(c)  Moulding  —  trunk  of  evergreen,  tub  in  which  it  was 
placed,  toys  that  adorned  it. 

(d)  Drawing  of  different  scenes  in  the  story,  as  of  wood- 
cutters hauling  the  trees  from  the  forest,  etc. 

(a,  5,  c,  are  from  Science,  d  is  from  Literature.) 
Number :  Number  of  needles  in  a  bundle  of  White,  Scotch, 
or  Austrian  pine  ;  in  two  bundles  of  White  pine  ;  in  two,  four, 
five  of  Scotch  or  Austrian  pine. 

Number  of  wings  on  two,  three,  etc.,  seeds. 

Number  of  pairs  of  legs  on  rabbit. 


CONCENTRATION  OF  STUDIES  125 

Number  of  wheels  on  wagon  that  hauled  the  tree  away. 

How  many  span  of  horses  ? 

Music  :  "  High  in  the  Top  of  an  old  Pine  Tree." 

Poems :  "  Pine  Needles." 

"The  Little  Fir  Trees." 

"  The  Pine  Tree's  Secret." 

SECOND  GRADE 

Literature:  "Louise,  the  Child  of  the  Western  Forest,"  in 
Seven  Little  Sisters. 

Science :  The  squirrel  (the  animal  that  Louise  loved  to 
watch) .  The  quails  (of  which  a  beautiful  description  is  given) . 
If  squirrels  cannot  be  secured,  or  are  not  familiar,  the  rabbit 
may  first  be  taken  as  a  type  ;  then  the  squirrel  by  comparison. 
So  also  with  the  quail,  the  hen  may  first  be  studied  as  a  type 
form. 

Heading :  "  The  Little  Chickens,"  and  "  The  Chicken  Hen," 
in  Easy  Steps  for  Little  Feet.  "The  Squirrel,"  in  Parker's 
Second  Supplementary  Reader.  "  Story  of  Chicken  Little," 
and  "  Two  Naughty  Chickens,"  in  Stickney's  Second  Reader. 

"  The  Rabbit's  Party,"  in  Interstate  Second  Reader. 

"  Rover  and  the  Squirrel,"  in  Barnes's  Second  Reader. 

"  What  the  Squirrel  Said,"  in  McGuffey's  Alternate  Supple- 
mentary Reader. 

Written  Language :  Stories  written  by  the  children  about 
Louise,  and  also  about  the  animals  studied. 

Writing :  If  the  children  are  ready  to  take  up  capital  L,  they 
will  write  Louise  ;  if  it  is  C,  they  will  write  Christian  (Louise's 
brother)  and  Christmas  (the  gala  day  for  them). 

Many  other  capitals  can  be  introduced"  from  the  story,  and 
short  sentences,  or  phrases  be  written,  as  Little  Gretchen,  The 
beautiful  river  Rhine,  Louis  loves  Fritz. 

Drawing  :  (a)  Illustrations  of  scenes  in  the  story  drawn  on 
blackboard  or  on  paper. 

(6)  Drawing  of  rabbit,  squirrel,  hen,  and  quail ;  of  the  ship 
(on  which  Louise  sailed) . 

(c)   Moulding  —  log  houses,  Christian's   flute,  the  axe  with 


126  HERBART  AND   THE   HERBARTIANS 

which  the  father  felled  the  trees,  the  linen  chests  (their  only 
furniture),  the  vegetables  (that  they  raised  to  sell). 

(d)  Paper-cutting  ;  quails,  squirrels,  vegetables,  etc. 

Number :  (a)  How  many  baby  quails  has  a  mother  quail  ? 

Various  stories  derived  therefrom,  or  if  they  were  to  go  in 
couples,  how  many  couples  would  follow  the  mother  ? 

(6)  Examples  based  on  the  nuts  that  the  squirrels  used, 
measures,  pint,  quart,  etc. 

(c)  On  the  number  of  eggs,  how  many  dozen  ? 

(d)  On  the  number  of  logs  it  takes  to  build  one  side  of  a 
house. 

(e)  On  the  number  of  dollars  Fritz  received  for  a  load  of 
wood ;  for  three  or  four  or  five  loads. 

(/)  Children  measure  and  sell  vegetables  (going  with  Chris- 
tian to  market) . 

Song:  "Bob  White." 
"Little  Gay  Bunny  Goat." 
"  The  Queer  Little  House." 

Game  :  "  Hop  Little  Rabbit  "  (small  chickens  represented). 
Poems :  ' '  Wanted,  Twelve  Pairs  of  Stockings. ' ' 
"  The  Mountain  and  the  Squirrel." 
"  Old  Squirrel  Gray." 

THIRD  GRADE 

Literature :  Robinson  Crusoe  —  "  Robinson's  Harvest." 

Science  :  Wheat  —  following  it  from  time  of  sowing  until  it 
is  taken  from  the  oven  as  a  loaf  of  bread. 

Heading :  "  The  Mill  Wheel,"  in  Easy  Steps  for  Little  Feet. 

"  How  the  Mill  Wheel  was  Turned,"  Harper's  Third  Reader. 

"  What  Comes  from  Seeds." 

The  Miller's  Methods,"  "The  Staff  of  Life,"  "The  Machine 
Baker,"  Information  Reader,  I. 

Written  Language  :  Chapter  on  Robinson's  harvest  repro- 
duced in  writing.  Story  of  a  tiny  grain  —  following  a  grain  of 
wheat  as  indicated  in  the  Science  lesson. 

Writing :  Based  on  sentences  taken  from  the  above. 

Drawing :  (a)  Picturing  of  Robinson,  showing  his  field  of 
grain,  his  harvest. 


CONCENTRATION  OF  STUDIES  127 

(6)  Drawing  a  stalk  of  wheat,  a  sheaf  of  wheat :  a  saber 
used  as  a  scythe  ;  pestle  and  mortar  used  in  pounding  wheat ; 
baskets  in  which  it  was  held  ;  clay  dish  on  which  it  was  placed 
after  being  fashioned  into  loaves ;  the  loaf  itself. 

(c)  Moulding  of  saber,  pestle,  mortar,  basket,  plate,  and  loaf. 

(d)  Paper-cutting ;  saber,  basket,  mortar,  pestle. 
Number :  (a)  Measure  stalks  of  wheat. 

(6)  Measure  wheat  by  peck,  one-half  bushel,  and  bushel. 
Examples  like  the  following :  If  I  have  a  bushel,  a  half -bushel, 
and  a  peck  of  wheat,  how  many  pecks  have  I  ? 

(c)  Weighing  a  bushel  of  wheat.  How  much  does  a  half- 
bushel  weigh  ?  A  peck  ?  A  quart  ? 

(<Z)  Selling  wheat  at  various  reasonable  prices  —  the  work 
not  to  be  beyond  the  pupils. 

(e)  How  many  grains  in  a  head  of  wheat  ?  (choose  a  head 
within  their  possibilities)  measure  grains  in  a  one-half  gill  cup. 
How  many  such  heads  will  it  take  to  fill  it  ?    To  fill  a  gill  cup  ? 

(/)  How  many  bushels  can  a  steam  thresher  thresh  in  one 
day  ?  In  one-half  day  ?  In  one  hour  ? 

(gr)  How  many  bushels  of  wheat  can  the  Bloomington  mill 
grind  in  one  day  ?  In  a  half  a  day  ?  etc. 

(A)  What  part  of  a  bushel  of  wheat  becomes  fine  flour  ? 

(f)  How  many  pounds  in  a  sack  of  flour  ?     A  half -sack  ? 
How  many  pounds  in  a  sack  of  graham  flour  ?    In  two  sacks  ? 

(j)  How  much  does  one  sack  of  flour  cost  ?  A  half-sack  ? 
Two  sacks  ?  etc. 

Songs:  "  We  of  the  Farmer  now  will  Sing."  , 
"  When  the  Corn  begins  to  Sprout." 
Poems  .•  "  There  was  a  Jolly  Miller." 

FOURTH  GRADE 

History  .•  Fremont's  Expedition. 

Geography :  The  country  to  which  the  class  is  introduced 
through  the  history,  i.e.,  St.  Louis,  Mississippi  River,  Platte 
River,  prairies  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  animals,  plants,  and 
products  of  these  states,  Fort  Laramie,  Rocky  Mountains  in  the 
region  of  Fremont's  Peak,  mountains,  lakes,  etc. ;  wheat  farms, 


128  HERBART  AND   THE   HERBARTIANS 

cattle  ranches,  new  Western  cities,  railroads,  frontier  facts,  gar- 
risons, Indian  tribes,  prairie  fires,  blizzards. 

Science :  The  wheat  plant,  grasses  of  the  West,  rocks,  fishes, 
birds,  deer,  buffalo,  etc.  If  these  animals  are  not  all  at  hand, 
those  most  nearly  related  to  them  may  be  studied  instead  ;  for 
example,  the  sheep  in  place  of  the  deer.  Also  instruments  used 
by  Fremont,  i.e.,  the  barometer,  thermometer,  compass  (air- 
pressure  and  pneumatics). 

Arithmetic :  Problems  suggested  by  Geography  and  Science  ; 
compare  lengths  of  rivers,  for  examples  in  division ;  value  of 
wheat  farms,  quantity  of  wheat  raised  and  its  value  at  a  certain 
number  of  bushels  per  acre  ;  the  values  of  hides  and  income  of 
trappers  from  that  source  ;  value  of  cattle. 

Language :  The  thoughts  expressed  on  paper  are  taken  from 
History,  Science,  etc. 

Spelling :  Words  necessarily  introduced  by  the  other  studies. 

FIFTH  GRADE 

History :  Story  of  John  Smith  (his  struggles  with  the  shift- 
less colonists,  his  adventures  with  the  Indians,  and  his  expedi- 
tion of  discovery) . 

Geography :  Chesapeake  Bay  and  vicinity ;  oyster-beds, 
tobacco-raising ;  coal  and  iron  mines  and  fruit-growing  in  ad- 
dition to  study  of  climate,  relief,  soil,  etc. 

Science :  Tobacco  plant,  oysters,  clams,  snails,  with  other 
native  plants  and  animals  of  Virginia. 

Arithmetic  .•  Quantity  of  tobacco  chewed  by  one  person  per 
year,  in  a  lifetime  ;  quantity  smoked  ;  its  value. 

Weight  of  ashes  of  cigar  compared  with  weight  of  cigar ;  one 
is  what  per  cent  of  the  other,  etc. 

Language :  Compositions  on  the  history  of  an  oyster,  the 
production  of  iron,  John  Smith's  adventures,  etc. 

SIXTH  GRADE 

History :  Causes  of  the  French  and  Indian  War. 
Desire  of  France  and  England  to  secure  the  fur  trade  —  dif- 
ferences in  religion,  etc. 


CONCENTRATION  OF  STUDIES  129 

Geography :  Valley  of  St.  Lawrence,  the  Great  Lakes,  Ohio 
River,  Nova  Scotia,  and  New  Brunswick,  Lake  Champlain,  and 
Lake  George,  pineries  of  West  and  North,  fisheries  on  coast. 

Science:  Fur-bearing  animals — beaver,  otter,  mink,  bear, 
buffalo,  raccoon.  Also  deer  and  moose. 

Arithmetic :  Relative  size  of  the  lakes,  expressed  decimally  ; 
of  the  states  in  the  once  disputed  territory ;  relative  worth  of 
various  kinds  of  furs,  and  so  forth. 

The  third  grand  subdivision  of  Ziller's  work,  that 
of  Methods  of  Teaching,  is  based  on  Herbart's  four 
distinctions,  CLEARNESS,  ASSOCIATION,  SYSTEM,  and 
METHOD,  as  already  explained  in  Chapter  VI  of 
Part  I. 

This  topic  is  discussed  in  the  next  chapter. 


METHOD  IN  TEACHING  — THE  FORMAL  STAGES  OF 
INSTRUCTION 

ZILLER  has  given  an  exhaustive  treatment  of  the 
principles  laid  down  by  Herbart  under  the  terms 
CLEARNESS,  ASSOCIATION,  SYSTEM,  and  METHOD  as 
explained  in  Part  I,  Chapter  VI.  He  has,  however, 
given  a  special  function  to  the  processes  Analysis  and 
Synthesis,  in  that  analysis  works  upon  present  stores 
of  knowledge  and  experience,  in  order  to  prepare  the 
mind  for  the  best  possible  apperception  of  the  new 
material  that  is  synthetically  offered  to  it  by  instruc- 
tion. Recognizing  this  separate  function  of  analysis 
and  synthesis,  most  followers  of  Ziller  now  divide  the 
step  clearness,  as  defined  by  Herbart,  into  two  steps, 
thus  making  five  in  all.  Dr.  Eein  names  them  as  fol- 
lows: (1)  Preparation  (analysis),  (2)  Presentation 
(synthesis),  (3)  Association,  (4)  System,  (5)  Appli- 
cation. 

The  following  translation  from  Rein's  Das  Erste 
Schuljahr  (The  First  School  Year),  made  by  Dr. 
Charles  A.  McMurry,1  gives  a  perfectly  clear  idea  of 
the  subject  as  conceived  by  the  disciples  of  Ziller:  — 

1  General  Method,  Bloomington,  111. :  Public-School  Publishing 
Co.,  1893. 

130 


METHOD  IN  TEACHING  131 

The  Formal  Steps  in  their  Outlines  —  Proceeding 
now  to  the  act  of  instruction  itself,  we  notice  first  of 
all  that  the  subject-matter  of  every  study  like  arith- 
metic or  geography  is  to  be  divided  up  into  a  number 
of  smaller  parts,  units  of  instruction,  each  of  which 
will  occupy  from  one  to  four,  or  even  more,  recita- 
tions. These  divisions  of  a  term's  work  in  history  or 
geography  are  what  Ziller  calls  methodical  unities,  and 
each  one  of  them  is  to  be  carried  through  the  succes- 
sive steps  of  a  systematic  recitation  plan,  namely,  the 
formal  steps. 

For  if  the  single  topics  which  go  to  make  up  the 
great  variety  of  school  studies  are  to  be  clearly  un- 
derstood and  thoroughly  assimilated,  each  must  be 
worked  over  by  itself.  For  this  purpose  sufficient 
time  must  be  given  so  that  the  details  of  each  object 
can  be  absorbed,  and  this  absorption  with  the  details 
must  be  succeeded  by  a  period  of  recollection,  a  brief 
survey  of  the  situation,  a  glance  backwards  and  for- 
wards, so  as  to  fix  the  relations  of  this  object  to 
others.  Suppose  that  the  instruction  in  a  class  begins 
with  one  of  these  methodical  unities.  The  first  thing 
to  do  is  to  make  plain  to  the  pupils  the  great  object  or 
aim  of  the  lesson.  In  a  primary  class,  for  instance, 
the  aim  may  be  so  expressed :  "  To-day  we  will  hear 
the  story  of  a  little  girl  that  lost  both  father  and 
mother."  For  a  more  advanced  class  as  follows : 
"  We  are  acquainted  with  the  earth  as  a  great  ball 
hanging  in  space.  We  will  next  see  whether  this  ball 
is  at  rest  or  in  motion." 

Reasons  for  stating  the  Aim  at  First  —  There  are 
several  important  reasons  in  favor  of  the  plain  state- 


132     HERBAKT  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

ment  of  the  purpose  of  a  recitation  at  the  beginning. 
1.  It  pushes  aside  and  out  of  view  those  irrelevant 
thoughts  which  chance  to  occupy  the  mind  before 
the  recitation,  and  it  accordingly  makes  room  for  the 
ideas  about  to  be  developed.  2.  It  transplants  the 
children  into  the  new  circle  of  ideas  which  are  to 
demand  their  attention,  and  it  encourages  the  rise  in 
the  child's  mind  of  those  older  and  kindred  thoughts 
which  will  be  most  welcome  supports  to  the  new  ideas 
about  to  be  presented.  3.  It  excites  expectation,  and 
this  is  the  most  favorable  disposition  of  mind  for  the 
beginning  of  instruction.  4.  It  gives  the  child  a 
strong  incentive  to  an  exercise  of  the  will,  and  impels 
it  to  voluntary  cooperation  in  solving  the  difficulties 
of  the  proposed  lesson. 

The  last  point  is  of  fundamental  importance,  and 
worthy  of  a  special  consideration.  The  pupil  should 
know  beforehand  what  is  coming  if  he  is  to  bring  all 
his  powers  to  bear  on  the  work  of  learning,  and  it  is 
easier  to  call  out  all  his  effort  if  he  knows  beforehand 
what  is  to  be  gained.  To  conduct  a  child  along  an 
unknown  road  toward  an  unknown  object,  by  means 
of  questions  and  hints,  the  object  of  which  he  does 
not  see,  to  lead  him  on  imperceptibly  to  an  unknown 
goal,  has  the  disadvantage  that  it  develops  neither  a 
spontaneous  mental  activity  nor  a  clear  insight  into 
the  subject. 

Having  reached  the  end  of  such  a  line  of  thought, 
the  pupil  looks  about  bewildered.  He  cannot  sur- 
vey the  road  that  he  has  just  gone  over.  He  does 
not  comprehend  what  has  happened  to  him.  He  stands 
at  the  goal,  but  does  not  see  the  relation  in  which  the 


METHOD   IN  TEACHING       >  133 

result  stands  to  the  labor  performed.  He  does  not 
rise  to  that  satisfactory  mental  activity  and  favorable 
disposition  of  mind  which  are  stimulated  by  the  pur- 
suit of  a  clearly  set  purpose.  No  aim,  no  will !  Now 
since  instruction  that  aims  at  moral  character  finds 
its  highest  purpose  in  the  development  of  will  power, 
it  follows  that  a  lesson  should  develop  the  will  just 
as  much  as  the  understanding.  But  to  develop  will 
power,  instruction  must  pursue  plainly  set  aims,  and 
to  reach  them  the  pupil  must  be  called  upon  to  throw 
all  his  mental  powers  into  the  effort. 

The  general  purpose  of  a  lesson  having  been  made 
plain,  the  real  work  of  teaching  then  begins,  and  in 
every  methodical  unity  this  work  runs  through  a  suc- 
cession of  five  steps. 

First  Step  —  The  first  step  in  this  process  consists 
in  a  preparation  of  the  ground  for  the  reception  of 
the  new  lesson.  This  is  done  by  freshening  up  and 
calling  clearly  to  the  mind  such  older  ideas  as  bear 
upon  the  new,  such  as  by  their  similarity  explain  and 
assist  the  understanding  of  the  new.  It  is  only  when 
a  troop  of  old  familiar  ideas  come  forth  to  meet  the 
strangers  that  they  are  received  easily  into  the  mind. 
It  is  in  this  way  alone  that  they  can  make  a  lasting 
impression  upon  the  thoughts  and  feelings.  If  these 
forces  which  lie  asleep  in  the  background  of  the  child's 
thoughts  are  not  called  into  activity,  he  will  remain 
dull  and  indifferent  to  the  recitation,  and  'the  instruc- 
tion reminds  us  of  a  learned  discourse  which  shoots 
over  the  heads  of  the  listeners.  Instead  of  interested 
attention  and  participation,  it  produces  only  weariness 
of  mind. 


134     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

This  result  will  always  follow  when  that  which  is 
said  awakens  no  chords  of  sympathy  in  the  minds  of 
the  hearers.  If  nothing  springs  forth  from  within 
to  greet  that  coming  from  without,  the  lesson  will  be 
meaningless  and  the  pupil  unreceptive.  Things  new 
and  strange  can  only  be  appropriated  by  means  of  a 
wealth  of  old  ideas,  and  the  plan  of  recitation  must 
see  to  the  preparation  of  these  old  materials  during 
the  first  step. 

/Second  Step  —  The  second  step  begins  with  the 
presentation  of  the  new  lesson,  which  will  vary  in  man- 
ner according  to  the  age  of  the  pupils  and  the  nature 
of  the  study.  A  story  will  be  related  to  a  primary 
class,  or  developed  according  to  the  conversational 
method.  A  reading  lesson  for  older  pupils  would  be 
read.  A  geography  topic  would  be  presented  by  the 
teacher  while  talking  and  drawing,  and  a  subject  in 
physics  while  experimenting  and  speaking.  If  the 
preparation  has  been  of  the  right  kind  the  lesson 
will  be  appropriated  with  ease  and  certainty,  and  the 
teacher  will  not  be  compelled  to  talk  and  ask  and  ex- 
plain all  around  the  subject.  Whenever  this  is  neces- 
sary the  preparation,  the  first  step,  must  be  regarded 
as  a  failure.  What  has  been  learned  is  not  only  to 
be  momentarily  understood,  but  permanently  appro- 
priated. It  is  necessary  to  close  up  this  step  with  rep- 
etition and  drill,  and  these  must  be  continued  under 
varying  forms  till  the  lesson  has  been  firmly  fixed. 
In  this  manner  the  first  great  act  in  the  process  of 
teaching  and  learning  has  been  completed,  namely, 
the  presentation  and  reception  of  the  subject-matter, 
and  it  consists,  as  we  have  seen,  of  two  steps,  prepa- 


METHOD  IN  TEACHING  135 

ration  of  the  ground  and  presentation  of  the  lesson. 
The  second  act  within  the  limits  of  a  methodical  unity 
is  the  process  of  building  up  and  bringing  into  dis- 
tinct form  the  general  or  abstract  ideas  which  are  to 
be  drawn  from  the  concrete  materials  already  collected, 
and  this  second  act  is  brought  to  a  conclusion  in  the 
three  following  steps. 

Third  Step  —  In  the  third  step  we  are  to  bring  to- 
gether in  the  mind  the  newly  won  ideas,  to  compare 
them  among  themselves  and  with  older  ideas,  and 
when  necessary  with  additional  new  ones  still  to  be 
presented;  in  short,  to  compare  and  to  combine  the 
new  and  the  old.  Such  a  comparison  and  union  of 
ideas  is  necessary  for  two  reasons :  (1)  in  order  that 
connection  and  harmony  be  established  in  one's  range 
of  ideas,  and  (2)  that  what  is  general  and  essential 
in  the  midst  of  special  individual  things  may  be  ex- 
tracted from  them.  Nowhere  should  heterogeneous 
heaps  of  knowledge,  like  piles  of  gravel,  be  brought 
together.  Always  and  everywhere  there  should  be 
an  effort  towards  well-associated  and  systematized 
knowledge.  "  Our  whole  personality  rests  in  the  end 
upon  the  unity  of  consciousness,  and  this  is  disturbed 
and  injured  when  the  mind  is  driven  through  a  con- 
fused conglomerate  of  knowledge  in  which  uncon- 
nected ideas  are  piled  up  together." 

But  every  concrete  individual  thing  which  is  treated 
as  a  methodical  unity  contains  or  embodies  a  general 
truth,  an  abstract  notion,  which  may  be  separated  from 
the  concrete  thing  in  which  it  is  embodied.  But  it 
can  only  be  brought  to  light  by  bringing  this  object 
into  comparison  with  other  well-known  concrete  objects 


136     HEEBAKT  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

which  contain  the  same  essential  idea  or  truth,  by 
bringing  together  in  the  mind  things  similar  but  not 
identical.  That  which  is  common  and  essential  to  all 
is  strengthened  by  repetition,  while  accidental  features 
and  differences  drop  easily  into  the  background.  The 
common  truth  which  all  the  objects  embody  springs 
forth  as  a  new  idea  of  higher  potency,  as  a  general 
notion,  as  a  rule  or  law. 

Fourth  Step  —  But  the  abstract  idea  is  still  bound 
up  with  the  concrete  thing ;  a  complete  separation  of 
this  abstract  or  general  notion  from  its  clothing  in 
particulars  has  not  yet  taken  place :  and  this  is  the 
purpose  of  the  fourth  step.  By  means  of  a  few  well- 
directed  questions  we  call  out  into  pure  and  simple 
relief  the  general  truth  or  rule,  freed  from  its  particu- 
lar applications.  We  reduce  this  idea  to  definite  lan- 
guage expression,  and  finally  bring  it  into  systematic 
connection  with  our  previously  acquired  knowledge. 
It  only  remains  to  impress  the  abstract  ideas  thus  ac- 
quired upon  the  mind  by  repetition,  so  as  to  convert 
them  into  a  real  mental  possession.  With  this  the 
process  of  abstraction  is  complete,  but  teaching  can- 
not afford  to  end  the  matter  here.  A  fifth  step  is 
needed  to  convert  the  knowledge  acquired  into  use. 

Fifth  Step  —  Knowledge  and  ability  to  know  have 
of  themselves  no  value  either  for  the  individual  or 
for  society.  Knowledge  must  first  step  into  the  ser- 
vice of  life.  One  must  know  how  to  apply  his  knowl- 
edge. Knowledge  and  power  must  be  changed  into 
use ;  they  must  be  transformed  into  conscious  ability. 
But  will  not  this  take  care  of  itself?  Not  at  all. 
Hundreds  of  children  have  learned  how  to  estimate 


METHOD   IN   TEACHING  137 

the  surface  of  a  triangle,  and  many  of  them  can  give 
the  proof  of  the  rule  with  ease  and  precision.  But 
put  the  question  to  one  of  them,  How  many  acres 
does  a  triangular  garden  with  sides  of  a  given  length 
contain  ?  he  will  stand  helpless,  unconscious  of  the 
fact  that  he  possesses  in,  his  own  mind  the  necessary 
elements  for  the  solution  of  the  problem.  How  is 
this  explained?  He  has  not  learned  to  employ  his 
knowledge.  It  is  a  dead  possession.  And  are  there 
not  plenty  of  such  cases  ?  The  conclusion  is,  that 
even  the  application,  the  use  of  knowledge,  has  to  be 
learned.  "Here  also  it  is  only  practice  that  makes 
the  master.  But  drill  which  aims  only  at  mechanical 
habit  is  not  sufficient.  Even  during  school  life  that 
which  is  learned  should  be  applied  as  often  and  in 
as  many  cases  as  the  narrow  limits  of  the  child's 
life  permit." 

Since  the  value  of  knowledge  culminates  in  use, 
instruction  should  cultivate  its  use  so  far  as  possible 
in  a  closing  step  called  application.  For  this  purpose 
the  child  should  be  held  to  a  diligent  use  of  its  stock 
of  ideas  as  rapidly  as  they  are  acquired,  to  go  from 
the  particular  to  the  general,  and  back  again  from  the 
general  to  the  particular,  to  traverse  his  circle  of  ideas 
from  a  given  standpoint  in  all  directions,  and  to  make 
use  of  the  results  reached  for  the  solution  of  moral, 
theoretical,  and  practical  questions.  In  this  manner 
a  child's  acquired  ideas  may  be  so  developed,  so 
welded  together  in  firm,  systematic,  comprehensive 
association,  that  all  his  knowledge  becomes  a  reliable, 
personal  possession.  It  is  clear  and  systematic  as  well 
as  practical. 


138     HEKBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

To  recapitulate:  In  the  work  of  instruction  each 
methodical  unity  should  be  carried  through  the  fol- 
lowing steps :  — 

1.  It  should  introduce  the  new  lesson  by  means  of 
a  preparatory  discussion. 

2.  Present  the  new  lesson. 

3.  Compare  the  new  in  its  parts  and  with  older 
ideas  and  their  combination. 

4.  Draw  out  the  general  results  of  this  comparison 
and  arrange  them  in  systematic  form. 

5.  Convert  the  knowledge  acquired  into  use. 

This  topic,  more  than  perhaps  any  other  from  the 
Herbartian  school,  is  now  accessible  in  English.  The 
reader  is  referred  especially  to  the  following-named 
works  for  an  extended  discussion :  McMurry,  General 
Method;  De  G-armo,  Essentials  of  Method  ;  Lange, 
Apperception,  pp.  200-245 ;  Rein  (Van  Liew's  trans- 
lation), Outlines  of  Pedagogy  ;  Herbart  (Felkins'  trans- 
lation), Science  of  Education,  pp.  122-128.  Concrete 
illustrations  will  be  given  in  the  next  Chapter,  where 
Dr.  Kein's  contributions  are  discussed.  The  varying 
terminology  used  by  writers  with  respect  to  the  for- 
mal steps  of  instruction  is  well  presented  in  the  fol- 
lowing table,  compiled  by  Van  Liew  in  his  translation 
of  Kein's  Outlines  of  Pedagogy.1 

i  Page  145. 


FORMAL  STEPS 


ij 

<5 
2 
« 
O 
fe 


140     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

Upon  Ziller's  work  as  a  whole  many  judgments 
have  been  passed,  both  laudatory  and  the  reverse. 
Certain  it  is,  that  few  can  regard  it  with  indifference. 
Its  bold,  radical,  far-reaching  propositions  challenge 
attention,  even  if  they  do  not  always  command  assent. 


CHAPTER  VI 

DR.  WILLIAM  REIN  — REDUCING  THEORY    TO    PRACTICE 
IN  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 

So  long  as  men  merely  lecture  at  the  universities 
or  write  their  opinions  in  their  books,  the  world  at 
large  does  not  know  whether  their  theories  will  work 
in  actual  practice  or  not. 

When  Dr.  Stoy  died  at  Jena  in  1885,  it  was  exceed- 
ingly fortunate  for  the  cause  of  education  in  general, 
even  if  it  was  not  for  the  specific  doctrines  of  Professor 
Stoy  himself,  that  Dr.  William  Rein,  Director  of  the 
State  Normal  School  at  Eisenach,  was  called  to  be  his 
successor.  Dr.  Rein  has  made  the  pedagogical  semi- 
nary at  Jena  the  most  noted  of  its  kind  in  Europe,  to 
which  students  resort  from  every  civilized  country. 

His  specific  contribution  to  the  Herbartian  cause  lies 
not  so  much  in  the  promulgation  of  new  ideas,  as  in 
the  practical  application  of  the  important  ones  that 
had  remained  mostly  untried.  Ziller's  opponents 
were  inclined  to  regard  him  as  a  pedagogical  senti- 
mentalist, who  would  sacrifice  any  number  of  rich 
educational  inheritances  for  a  poor  mess  of  pedagog- 
ical pottage.  Few  teachers  thought  that  his  plan  of 

141 


142  HERBART  AND  THE   HERBARTIANS 

concentration,  with  its  scheme  of  culture  epochs,  and 
its  subordination  of  the  greater  part  of  the  subjects  of 
study  to  Biblical  and  profane  history,  would  stand  the 
test  of  actual  practice.  It  was  the  unrivalled  work  of 
Dr.  Rein,  aided  by  two  of  his  colleagues  in  the  nor- 
mal school,  to  show  in  eight  single  volumes  corre- 
sponding to  the  eight  years  of  the  common  schools, 
just  how  Ziller's  plan  for  the  selection  and  concen- 
tration of  studies,  could  be  carried  out  in  practice, 
revealing  at  the  same  time  in  the  most  elaborate  detail 
the  methodical  treatment  of  each  subject  according 
to  the  formal  steps.  These  eight  volumes1  are  a 
monument  of  patient  labor,  such  as  only  Germans 
are  capable  of  executing. 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  succeeding  citation,  Dr. 
Rein  adheres  closely  to  Ziller's  exposition  of  Herbart. 
Concerning  the  principle  of  the  culture  epochs  as  a 
guide  to  the  selection  of  studies,  he  announces  the 
three  following  principles :  — 

1.  By  following  the  order  of  the  national  culture, 
and  presenting  it  in  the  light  of  ethical  judgment,  we 
shall  call  forth  permanent  interest  in  the  developing 
child;  hence,   chronological  progress  from   older  and 
simpler,   to  newer  and  more   complicated  stages  and 
conditions. 

2.  As  a  basis  for  this  material  we  must  use  child- 
like classical,  religious,  literary,  and  historical  matter 
(Volks  Stories  and  Robinson  Crusoe  in  the  first  two 
grades).      "Periods  which  no  master  has  described, 
whose  spirit  no  poet  has  breathed,  are  of  small  value 

1  Theorie  und  Praxis  des  Volkschulunterrichtes  (Die  acht  Schul- 
jahren)  by  Rein,  Pickel,  und  Scheller;  Leipzig:  Heinrich  Bredt. 


DR.   WILLIAM   REIN  143 

for  education"  (Herbart).  Only  classical  presenta- 
tions invite  the  pupil  to  constant  and  profitable  repe- 
titions ;  they  alone  furnish  nourishment  for  the 
interests  and  aspirations  of  children.  Only  through 
these  does  the  past  speak  in  full  tones  to  the  present. 

3.  Only  large,  connected  unities  of  subject-matter 
are  able  to  arouse  and  keep  alive  the  deep  sympathy 
of  the  youthful  mind,  thereby  contributing  to  the 
development  of  character.  "Great  moral  energy  is 
the  effect  of  entire  scenes  and  unbroken  thought 
masses  "  (Herbart) . 

As  a  result  of  the  application  of  the  idea  of  Concen- 
tration to  the  work  of  the  first  year,  Dr.  Rein  exhibits 
the  following  program :  — 

(1.   Core  of  Concentration  "I  Drawing,  Singing,  Num- 
[•     ber,      Reading,     and 
2.   Nature-Study  )      Writing. 


1.  Ethical  Core  of  Concentration  (Gesinnungs-Stojf)', 
Grimm's  Fairy  Tales.     These  form  the  center,  or  core, 
of  instruction.     The  other  branches  are  concentrated 
about  them;    and  by  them  the  remaining  topics  are 
largely  determined. 

2.  Nature-Study  —  All  the  subjects   that  are  sug- 
gested by  the  Fairy  Tales,  receiving  a  special  illumi- 
nation from  them  and  thereby  awakening  an  intensified 
interest,  are  first  chosen  for  treatment.     School  life 
and  individual   experience  furnish  much  supplemen- 
tary matter.     (See  list  of  object  lessons  below.) 

3.  Draicing  —  For  this  purpose  the    objects  men- 
tioned in  the  Fairy  Tales  and  in  the  nature-study  are 
used. 

4.  Singing  —  The  choice  of  songs  is  determined  by 


144     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

the  moods  developed  by  instruction  and  by  school 
life.  The  various  songs  must  express  emotion  at  fit- 
ting times. 

5.  Number  Work  —  This  is  connected  closely  with 
the  things  that  are  considered  in  the  various  culture 
and  nature  subjects. 

6.  Reading  and  Writing  —  The  material  is  chosen 
from  the  topics   treated   during  instruction  in  Fairy 
Tales  and  Nature  Study. 

"  For  the  following  grades,  also,  we  seek  to  apply 
the  foregoing  principles,  even  though  the  growing  com- 
plication of  the  studies  makes  it  more  difficult  than 
during  the  first  year.  The  more  the  studies  threaten  to 
diverge,  the  firmer  must  the  fusion  of  the  individual 
parts  be  made,  so  that  through  all  multiplicity  and 
variety,  there  shall  never  be  lacking  the  fundamental 
condition  for  unity  of  consciousness,  for  identity  of 
personality,  and  therefore  for  the  development  of  moral 
character."  l 

A  noteworthy  peculiarity  proposed  by  Ziller  and 
carried  out  by  Eein  and  other  members  of  the  Ziller 
school,  is  that  the  ethical  core  of  concentration  for 
the  first  year  shall  consist  of  some  dozen  Fairy  Tales 
from  Grimm  ;  and  for  the  second,  of  the  story  of 
Eobinson  Crusoe.  This  is  done  for  the  reason  that 
they  represent  still  more  elementary  culture  stages 
than  the  simplest  stories  of  the  Bible,  being,  therefore, 
more  perfectly  adapted  to  the  child's  elementary  stage 
of  comprehension.  This  proposition  was  at  first  vio- 
lently opposed  by  most  teachers  as  a  caricature  on 

1  Das  Erste  Schuljahr,  5th  edition,  p.  87. 


DR.  WILLIAM   REIN  145 

the  religious  teaching  given  in  these  grades  of  most 
schools  where  the  Bible  itself  was  used  as  the  basis  of 
all  moral  and  religious  instruction.  The  plan  is  now 
more  calmly  considered,  though  it  has  found  but  little 
practical  application  in  the  schools,  the  chief  cause, 
however,  of  all  the  slowness  of  reform  in  German 
schools  being  that  the  curriculum  is  prescribed  by 
state  authority. 

The  stories  are  carefully  edited  before  being  pre- 
sented to  the  children.  A  good  idea  of  the  general 
method  of  treatment  may  be  seen  from  the  following 
examples,  translated  from  Das  Erste  and  Das  Zweite 
Schuljahr :  — 

THE  WONDERFUL  KETTLE 

i 

Once  there  was  a  very  poor  little  girl,  who  lived 
with  her  mother  near  a  great  wood.  They  had  noth- 
ing to  eat,  and  grew  very  hungry.  Then  the  little 
girl  went  out  into  the  woods.  Here  an  old  woman, 
who  knew  already  that  the  little  girl  was  hungry,  met 
her.  So  the  old  woman  gave  the  little  girl  a  kettle, 
and  said  to  her,  "If  you  say  to  the  kettle,  'Kettle, 
cook,'  it  will  cook  you  good,  sweet  rice.  But  if  you 
say,  (  Kettle,  stop,'  it  will  stop  cooking."  Then  the 
little  girl  took  the  kettle  home  to  her  mother,  and 
told  her  all  about  it.  After  this  they  did  not  need  to 
go  hungry,  for  as  often  as  they  pleased  they  ate  good, 
sweet  rice. 

ii 

One  day  the  mother  went  away  from  home,  and  left 
the  little  girl  all  alone.  Soon  she  became  hungry,  and 


146     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

said  to  the  kettle,  "  Kettle,  cook " ;  but  she  had  for- 
gotten all  about  saying,  "  Kettle,  stop."  The  kettle 
kept  on  cooking  more  rice,  until  it  ran  over.  Then 
the  kitchen  became  full  of  boiled  rice,  then  the  whole 
house,  then  the  street,  and  at  last  all  the  houses. 
Nobody  knew  what  to  do. 

At  last  the  mother  came  home,  and  called  out, 
"  Kettle,  stop."  It  stopped  cooking  at  once ;  but 
whoever  wanted  to  get  into  that  town  had  to  eat  his 
way  in  through  the  rice. 

METHODICAL  TREATMENT 

A.  (1)  I  have  told  you  about  a  little  girl.     Who 
had  died?     Could   they  give  her  food   any  longer? 
The  poor  girl  must  have  often  suffered  hunger,  why  ? 
What  must  she  have  had,  not  to  be  hungry  any  more  ? 
Children  name  many  kinds  of  food.     There  are  warm 
foods  and  cold  ones.     How  are  warm  foods  prepared  ? 
(Kitchen,  stove,  fire.)     How  long  must   rice   cook? 
May  it  cook  forever  ?     What  would  happen  ? 

I  will  tell  you  of  a  little  girl  who  often  had  to  go 
hungry. 

(2)  Story  to  "  as  often  as  they  pleased,  they  ate 
good,  sweet  rice." 

B.  (1)  What  did  the  old  woman  give  the  girl  ? 
What  was  she  to  say  to  it  ?     Could  the  mother  say 
this,   also  ?     How   did   she  know   about   it  ?     What 
would  the  kettle  do  ?     How  long  would  it  cook  ?     Do 
you  suppose  the  girl  had  thought  of  this  ?     If  she 
had  not,  what  would  happen  ? 

(2)  Story  to  "  and  nobody  knew  what  to  do." 


DR.   WILLIAM  REIN  147 

C.  (1)  How  long  will  the  kettle  go  on  cooking? 
Who  could  stop  it  ?  Where  is  the  mother  ? 

(2)  Story  to  the  close.     Repetition  by  children. 
Uniting  of   the   three   sections.     Questions    on    the 
whole.     Several  pupils  tell  the  whole  story- 

(3)  The  child  had  not  remembered  what  the  old 
woman  had  said.     Who  had  ?     Has  any  one  ever  told 
you  anything  that  you  ought  to  notice  and  remember  ? 
(The  teacher,  parents,  brothers,  and  sisters,  etc.     Chil- 
dren give  examples.)    Who  had  not  forgotten  what  the 
old  woman  said?     What  could  the  mother  do  when 
the  rice  ran  over  ?     Who  had  forgotten  it  ?     Who  did 
not  know  what  to  do  ?     If  you  have  forgotten  some- 
thing, what  can  you  not  do  ?     But  if  you  have  remem- 
bered, what  can  you  do?    What  does  the  teacher 
(papa,  mamma)  say  when  you  have  forgotten  some- 
thing ?    What  should    you  not  do  ?    What  should 
you  do? 

(4)  "We  must  not  forget  what  we  are  told  to  do." 

(5)  Application :   e.g.  What  should  you  do  when 
you  meet  the  teacher?     (Greet  him.)     When  you 
meet  people  on  the  street  ?     When  your  mother  goes 
away  and  tells  you  something,  what  must  you  do  ?  etc. 

Robinson  Crusoe  is  recast  as  is  seen  in  the  follow- 
ing translation  of  Rein's  version,  the  original  form 
not  being  regarded  as  important,  since  it  must  in  any 
event  suffer  translation  for  German  children.  As 
soon  as  a  section  is  narrated,  it  at  once  undergoes 
treatment  according  to  the  five  steps  described  in 
Chapter  V.  All  the  studies  of  the  second  year  are 
related  to  this  ethical  core  as  to  the  fairy  tales  of 


148     HERBAKT  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

the  first  year.  Following  the  story  of  how  Eobinson 
settled  is  a  delightful  account  of  an  actual  lesson  on 
Eobinson  Crusoe  told  by  Dr.  Klemm  in  his  European 
Schools.1  It  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  the  manner  in 
which  this  material  is  utilized. 

ROBINSON  SETTLES 

Among  the  things  that  Robinson  brought  from  the 
ship  were  a  spy-glass,  a  Bible,  and  pens,  paper,  and 
ink.  He  folded  himself  a  book,  in  which  he  wrote 
everything  that  happened.  At  the  same  time  he  pre- 
pared an  almanac.  He  set  up  a  cross  as  a  monument 
at  the  place  where  he  had  been  cast  upon  the  shore. 

Robinson  now  began  to  build  himself  a  secure 
dwelling.  His  tent  stood  on  swampy  ground,  so  he 
sought  a  better  place  and  found  one  on  high  ground 
near  a  spring.  Here  there  was  a  cave  in  the  rock 
large  and  dry  enough  for  him  to  live  in.  He  first 
carried  all  his  things  to  the  cave.  Then,  wishing  to 
protect  himself,  he  made  a  strong  fence  by  driving 
tall  stakes  close  together  in  a  half-circle.  The  fence 
reached  from  the  rock  near  the  cave  around  to  the 
rock  on  the  other  side,  and  enclosed  a  space  twenty 
paces  long  and  half  as  wide.  He  left  no  opening,  but 
climbed  over  the  fence  by  means  of  a  short  ladder, 
which  he  always  drew  in  after  him.  The  fencing  of 
his  dwelling-place  was  a  severe  labor,  and  lasted  from 
the  3d  of  January  to  the  14th  of  April. 

Robinson  now  began  to  enlarge  his  cave  into  a  kind 
of  cellar.  This  took  a  long  time,  for  he  had  neither 

i  New  York:  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  1889. 


DE.  WILLIAM  REIN  149 

pick  nor  shovel.  But  he  found  a  piece  of  firm,  hard 
wood  from  which  he  made  a  very  good  shovel.  This 
took  him  three  days. 

Within  his  fortress  Robinson  now  built  a  hut,  for 
his  tent  let  the  water  through  when  it  rained.  He 
drove  stakes  into  the  ground  in  front  of  the  cave,  put 
a  cross-bar  on  top  of  them,  and  then  used  poles  for 
rafters,  which  he  placed  standing  against  the  rock 
above  the  cave.  He  covered  the  roof  with  branches 
of  trees,  leaves,  and  whatever  he  could  find  that  would 
keep  out  the  rain.  The  sides  he  covered  with  wood, 
plastering  up  the  cracks  with  clay.  The  doorway  he 
covered  with  a  piece  of  sail  cloth.  But  there  was  still 
plenty  to  do  within.  He  had  no  bed,  no  chair,  no 
table,  and  no  fireplace.  It  took  a  long  time  to  make 
these.  Then  he  put  his  things  in  order.  The  most  of 
them  he  put  into  the  cave  and  the  cellar. 

To  know  the  time  of  day,  he  made  himself  a  sun- 
dial. After  this  he  could  divide  his  time  regularly. 
Every  morning  he  took  a  walk  in  the  open  air  with  his 
gun,  then  he  worked  until  11  o'clock,  at  which  time  he 
prepared  and  ate  his  dinner ;  from  12  to  2  o'clock  he 
slept,  since  the  heat  of  the  sun  was  then  unbearable. 
The  remainder  of  the  day  he  worked,  writing  in  his 
diary  at  the  end  of  the  day. 

One  morning  he  shot  a  goat.  At  first  he  rejoiced, 
but  how  sorry  was  he,  when  he  saw  a  kid  by  the  side 
of  its  dead  mother !  He  took  the  goat  upon  his  shoul- 
ders and  the  kid  followed,  but  would  eat  nothing, 
however  much  he  might  try  to  induce  it  to  do  so.  At 
length  he  had  to  kill  the  kid  to  prevent  it  from  slowly 
dying  from  starvation.  At  another  time,  he  shot  a 


160  HERB  ART  AND   THE   HERBARTIANS 

young  goat  in  the  leg,  caught  it,  carried  it  home,  and 
bound  up  the  wounded  leg.  The  wound  healed,  and 
the  animal  became  so  tame  that  it  never  ran  away. 
Afterwards  the  goat  gave  him  rich  milk. 

At  first  when  night  came  on,  Robinson  sat  in  dark- 
ness, or  had  only  the  light  of  the  fire  on  the  hearth. 
By  and  by  he  began  to  study  how  he  could  have  a 
light,  and  found  a  way.  He  used  the  fat  of  the  goats 
for  oil,  prepared  a  wick,  and  could  now  keep  a  small 
lamp  burning,  which  he  had  brought  with  him  from 
the  ship. 

A  LESSON  ON  ROBINSON  CRUSOE  1 

Teacher.  "  Well,  my  children,  we  heard  that  Robin- 
son  had  at  last  found  means  to  return  home.  He  was 
ready  to  embark  in  the  ship,  the  captain  of  which  was 
willing  to  take  him  across  the  ocean.  What  do  you 
think  he  took  along  with  him  ?  " 

Pupil.     "  I  think  he  took  his  parrot." 

Teacher.     "  Why  ?  " 

Pupil.  "  Oh,  he  liked  the  bird,  and  he  thought  it 
would  be  a  nice  present  for  his  mother." 

Teacher.  "  Indeed,  my  child,  he  was  sure  to  have 
taken  his  parrot,  and  I  am  glad  he  thought  of  that 
dear  mother  of  his.  Would  you  have  thought  of  your 
mother  first,  if  you  had  been  in  his  place  ?  " 

Pupil.  "Yes.  Don't  you  know  he  had  nearly 
broken  his  mother's  heart  by  running  away  from 
home  ?  " 

Teacher.     "  Well,  what  else  did  he  take  with  him  ?  " 

1  Reported  by  Dr.  L.  R.  Klemm  in  his  European  Schools,  pp. 
199-20G. 


A  LESSON  ON  KOBINSON  CKUSOE  151 

Pupil.  "  I  think  he  took  Friday.  He  could  not 
have  left  him  alone  on  the  island.  He  owed  him 
thanks  for  being  his  companion." 

Teacher.  "True,  we  must  never  forget  a  debt  of 
gratitude.  He  who  forgets  a  friend  is  not  worthy  to 
have  a  friend.  What  else  did  he  take  ?  " 

Pupil.  "He  took  his  self-made  clothes  and  para- 
sol, to  show  how  he  had  helped  himself." 

Teacher.  "Yes,  it  is  likely  that  he  took  them. 
Anything  else  ?  " 

Pupil.  "  I  think  he  took  the  tools  he  had  made,  and 
some  of  the  pots  he  had  formed  and  baked." 

Teacher.  "  The  tools,  yes,  but  hardly  the  pots,  for 
he  would  have  found  it  very  troublesome  to  travel 
with  them.  So,  then,  they  took  leave  of  the  island. 
The  sun  shone  brightly,  and  the  birds  sang  as  though 
they  meant  to  say  good-by  to  Robinson  and  his  black 
friend.  They  both  went  on  board  the  large  sailing- 
vessel,  where  they  were  well  received.  Now  the  an- 
chor was  wound  up."  (Teacher  draws  an]  anchor, 
pupils  explain  its  use.)  "The  sails  were  hoisted" 
(sails  were  drawn  on  the  board,  by  pupils  likewise  on 
slate),  "and  the  wind  began  to  move  the1  vessel  on- 
ward. Eobinson  stood  on  deck  and  looked  back  to 
the  island  where  he  and  Friday  had  spent  so  many 
weary  months.  Both  remembered  the  many  hardships 
they  had  suffered.  Now  some  one  may  tell  the  story 

so  far." 

/ 

Pupil.  "  When  the  captain  of  the  sailing-vessel  had 
agreed  to  take  Eobinson  with  him  to  Hamburg,1  Eob- 

1  Remember  this  was  a  German  school.  Another  deviation  from 
Defoe's  original  is  found  in  the  substitution  of  goats  for  llamas. 


152     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

inson  said  to  him :  '  Let  me  take  my  friend  Friday. 
He  has  been  my  companion  for  many  months  and 
years,  and  it  would  be  ungrateful  if  I  should  leave 
him  here  alone  on  the  island.'  The  captain  was  will- 
ing to  take  the  black  fellow  also.  Then  Robinson 
took  on  board  what  was  dear  to  him,  his  parrot,  his 
tools,  his  clothes  of  goat-skin,  and  other  things  which 
he  had  wanted  to  show  at  home.  He  intended  to  give 
the  parrot  to  his  dear  mother,  the  poor  lady  who  had 
grieved  for  her  bad,  runaway  boy.  Both  Robinson 
and  Friday  took  leave  of  the  places  on  the  island 
where  they  had  found  shelter,  and  by  taking  the  cap- 
tain along  on  their  tour  of  leave-taking  they  showed 
him  the  island  and  many  of  the  objects  that  had  served 
them.  When  they  stood  on  the  deck  of  the  sailing- 
vessel  they  looked  back  upon  the  island.  The  sun 
shone  upon  the  gently  swaying  palm-trees,  the  goats 
were  capering  among  the  rocks,  and  the  birds  sang 
and  twittered  as  though  they  meant  to  take  leave  of 
Robinson,"  .  .  .  etc.,  with  delightful  childish  particu- 
larity. 

Now  another  child  told  the  story  somewhat  differ- 
ently, a  proof  that  each  pupil  thought  his  own 
thoughts.  Then  this  part  of  the  narrative  was  en- 
titled "  Robinson's  Departure  from  the  Island."  This 
heading  found  a  place  on  the  blackboard  under  I. 

Teacher.  "  For  the  present,  children,  we  must  leave 
Robinson  on  the  bcean,  and  let  us  hope  he  will  not 
meet  with  another  storm  such  as  had  wrecked  the 
ship  on  which  he  had  left  home.  We  have  a  gentle- 
man with  us  who  has  been  on  the  ocean  several  times. 
He  comes  all  the  way  from  America.  Ask  him  how 
long  it  took  him  to  cross  the  mighty  ocean." 


A  LESSON  ON  ROBINSON  CRUSOE  153 

Pupil.  "  Oh,  no,  he  cannot  have  come  from  there ; 
he  is  not  black  or  red  like  Negroes  and  Indians." 
Some  boys  laughingly  agreed  that  the  teacher's  state- 
ment could  not  have  been  right.  But  others  looked 
sober  and  one  of  them  said :  "  My  cousin  went  over 
to  America  some  time  ago,  and  when  he  comes  back 
I  hope  he  will  be  white  yet.  People  don't  get  black 
there  who  are  not  born  black."  That  sobered  the 
others  at  once,  and  now  they  believed  that  there  might 
be  white  people  in  America.  After  this  fact  was  ac- 
knowledged the  boys  said  to  me,  "  Do  tell  us  how  long 
it  took  you  to  cross  the  ocean." 

"  It  took  me  thirteen  days  and  ten  hours,  but  you 
see,  I  came  in  a  large  steamer.  Had  I  been  in  a 
sailing-vessel,  it  would  have  taken  me  much  longer  — 
at  any  rate,  several  weeks." 

Pupil  "  Why,  that's  nearly  two  weeks  !  Did  you 
not  see  any  land  on  the  way  ?  " 

"  Yes,  on  the  tenth  day  we  hailed  the  coast  of  Eng- 
land, and  after  that  we  hardly  ever  lost  the  coast  out 
of  sight,  till  we  reached  Hamburg." 

Pupil.  "  Well,  how  long  does  it  take  a  sailing-vessel 
to  cross  the  ocean  ?  " 

"  If  the  wind  is  favorable,  about  five  weeks.  But  it 
may  take  seven  weeks." 

Pupil.  "  Hooh !  seven  weeks  ;  why  that's  forty-nine 
days,  just  think  of  it !  Did  you  see  any  fishes  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  dear,  we  saw  large  fishes,  called  tumblers, 
who  jumped  from  one  wave  into  another,  following  the 
steamer  to  eat  what  was  thrown  overboard.  They  are 
called  hog-fish,  because  their  flesh  looks  like  fresh 
pork,  rosy  and  fat." 


154     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

Pupil.    "Did  you  have  any  storms  on  the  sea ?  " 

"  Yes,  a  storm  that  lasted  three  days,  and  we  had 
much  fog,  in  which  we  could  not  see  the  bow  of  the 
steamer  when  standing  at  the  stern."  Other  questions 
with  which  I  was  pelted  I  will  omit  here  and  proceed 
with  the  lesson. 

Teacher.  "  Let  us  see,  boys ;  our  story  tells  us  that 
Robinson  had  a  passage  which  lasted  nine  weeks.  If 
you  remember  where  Robinson's  island  is  situated,  west 
of  South  America,  the  voyage  was  very  swift."  (Map 
is  shown,  and  distances  are  compared.)  "  The  vessel 
met  with  no  storm  or  fog,  and  the  weather  was  fine. 
The  fishes  in  the  sea  could  be  seen  playing  in  the  sun- 
shine. Robinson  and  Friday  made  themselves  useful 
on  board  by  helping  to  set  sails  and  doing  other  things. 
At  last  they  reached  the  coast  of  England,  but  did  not 
land.  The  vessel  glided  along  the  shores  of  England, 
France,  Holland,  and  Germany,  and  finally  up  the  river 
Elbe,  and  •  entered  the  harbor  of  Hamburg.  Some  one 
may  tell  the  story  of  'Robinson's  Voyage  across  the 
Ocean' " 

First  one,  then  two  others,  told  the  story,  mention- 
ing time  of  voyage,  comparing  it  with  that  of  a 
steamer.  The  fishes,  sunshine,  wind,  sails,  work  on 
deck,  and  other  points  were  touched  with  a  faithful- 
ness truly  astonishing. 

Teacher.  "  Let  us  proceed.  Tell  me  what  was  done 
when  the  ship  was  fastened  to  the  dock  ?  " 

Pupil.  "The  people  left  the  ship  and  went  on 
land." 

Teacher.  "  Leaving  everything  under  deck  they  had 
brought  with  them  ?  " 


A  LESSON  ON  ROBINSON  CRUSOE  155 

Pupil.    "  No,  they  unloaded  the  freight." 

Teacher.   "  What  may  that  have  consisted  of  ?  " 

Pupil.  "  Well,  the  ship  had  been  in  the  South  Sea, 
and  may  have  been  loaded  with  oranges  or  other 
Southern  fruit,  perhaps  with  cocoanuts." 

Teacher.  "  What  other  things  are  brought  from  for- 
eign countries  ?  " 

Pupil.  "  Petroleum,  wheat,  dye-wood,  wild  animals, 
hides,  dried  fish." 

Teacher.  "Think  of  some  things  that  do  not  grow 
in  Germany." 

Pupil.  "Coffee,  rice,  tea,  cane-sugar,  cotton,  to- 
bacco." 

Teacher.  "  Very  well.  Our  story  does  not  say  with 
what  the  ship  was  loaded ;  but,  when  it  was  fastened 
to  the  dock,  all  the  freight  was  carried  out  and  wheeled 
into  the  big  magazines  along  the  dock,  where  the  mer- 
chants came  to  buy.  Shall  we  stay  at  the  dock  and 
see  the  freight  unloaded,  or  follow  Robinson  and 
Friday  into  town  ?  " 

Pupil.    "  Let  us  follow  Robinson." 

Teacher.  "  All  right ;  it  must  have  taken  several 
days  to  unload  the  ship,  and  Robinson  wanted  to 
hurry  home  to  see  his  dear  old  mother.  How  do 
you  think  Friday  behaved  when  they  reached  the 
harbor  ?  " 

Pupil.  "Oh,  he  must  have  been  very  much  aston- 
ished, for  he  had  never  seen  a  city.  The  many  ships, 
the  high  houses,  the  many  white  people,  and  the 
smoking  chimney-stacks  of  the  steamers,  the  cranes 
for  unloading  ships,  all  of  it  must  have  looked  very 
queer  to  him." 


156     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

Another  pupil.  "The  strangest  things  the  savage 
saw  must  have  been  the  horses  drawing  wagons. 
'  Look,  Robinson/  he  cried, '  look  at  these  animals  ! 
did  you  ever  see  such  strange  things  ?  '  And  when 
they  entered  a  horse-car  and  noticed  the  long  rows  of 
houses  with  the  many,  many  windows,  the  thousands 
of  people  on  the  streets,  and  all  the  many  objects 
of  interest  flitting  by,  he  sat  in  dumb  amazement." 

Teacher.  "Very  well  told,  my  boy.  I  see  I  need 
not  tell  the  story  myself ;  you  can  tell  it  as  well  as  I 
can.  What  happened  when  they  left  the  street-car  ?  " 

Pupil.  "  Oh,  Friday  saw  so  many  new  things  he  had 
never  seen  before  that  he  stood  still  every  minute  to 
ask  Robinson  to  look  at  this  and  that."  Other  pupils. 
"  Yes ;  and  when  they  came  to  a  big  shop-window  he 
wanted  to  know  what  everything  seen  there  was  for." 
"  He  reached  out  his  hand  to  take  some  of  the  things, 
to  look  at  them  closer,  but  was  much  astonished  to 
find  he  could  not  do  that  on  account  of  the  thick  pane 
of  glass  between  him  and  the  articles."  "  I  wonder 
how  often  he  cried  to  Robinson,  who  was  urging  him 
on,  to  stay  and  look  at  a  new  article  he  had  never 
seen?"  "I  believe  he  was  afraid  when  he  saw  the 
first  dog.  He  may  have  thought  him  to  be  a  wild 
animal,  such  as  a  panther." 

Teacher.  "We  will  call  this  part  of  our  story  '  Their 
Arrival  in  Hamburg  and  Friday's  Astonishment.'  Some 
one  may  tell  me  the  story."  It  is  repeated  in  a  con- 
nected manner  by  several  pupils.  Then  the  teacher 
said :  "  Before  we  hear  what  Robinson  found  at  home, 
let  us  repeat  the  three  pr.rts  of  our  story.  This  sec- 
tion shall  tell  us  of  his  departure  from  the  island;  the 


A  LESSON  ON  ROBINSON  CRUSOE  157 

second  section  may  tell  us  all  about  his  voyage  across 
the  ocean ;  and  the  third  of  their  arrival  in  the  harbor 
and  Friday's  astonishment  at  the  new  sights  he  be- 
held." It  was  surprising  to  see  how  faithfully  they 
recalled  the  different  incidents  spoken  of  and  how  well 
they  expressed  their  thoughts. 

Teacher.  "At  last  they  reached  the  house  where 
Robinson  was  born.  He  looked  at  the  door-plate, 
which  used  to  bear  the  name  '  Daniel  Crusoe,'  but  now 
bore  another  name.  Robinson  rang  the  bell.  A  ser- 
vant opened  the  door  and  asked  him  whom  he  wanted 
to  see.  He  said,  '  I  want  to  see  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crusoe.' 
f  They  do  not  live  here  any  longer,  but  wait  a  minute, 
I  will  call  my  master.  He  may  tell  you  where  to  find 
them.'  The  gentleman  came  and  looked  at  this  strange 
couple,  Robinson  not  having  had  time  to  shave  his 
long  beard  and  cut  his  hair,  and  Friday,  the  black 
fellow,  must  have  looked  odd  enough  in  this  city  of 
white  people;  and  then  remember  they  were  laden 
with  queer-shaped  things  and  a  jabbering  parrot. 
Robinson  asked  anxiously  after  his  mother.  The 
gentleman  of  the  house  asked  them  in,  offered  them 
seats,  and  told  them  all  about  the  old  couple. 

"Robinson's  mother  had  grieved  so  much  over  her 
runaway  boy  that  she  fell  ill,  and  when  news  reached 
her  that  the  ship  in  which  he  had  sailed  for  foreign 
lands  had  been  wrecked,  she  died  of  a  broken  heart. 
Think  of  the  bitter  tears  of  repentance  Robinson  cried 
when  he  heard  that  that  dear,  gentle,  loving  mother 
of  his  had  died  of  grief !  He  was  a  strong  man  now, 
but  the  hot  tears  trickled  down  into  his  long  beard, 
and  for  some  time  he  could  not  control  himself.  Fri- 


158     HEKBAET  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

day,  seeing  his  friend's  great  distress,  began  to  weep 
too ;  but  the  parrot  that  was  intended  for  a  present  to 
the  old  dame  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it.  At 
last  Robinson  controlled  himself  enough  to  ask  after 
his  father. 

"  He  was  still  alive,  the  gentleman  said,  but  he  had 
retired  from  business  and  lived  in  a  small  house  near 
the  harbor,  where  he  sat,  lonely  and  forsaken,  to 
watch  the  ships  coming  into  and  leaving  the  harbor. 
Robinson  thanked  the  gentleman  kindly  for  the  infor- 
mation, and  left  the  old  house  to  look  up  his  father. 
After  many  inquiries  along  the  wharf,  he  found  the 
house  where  his  father  lived.  They  hurried  upstairs, 
and  in  a  tidy  little  room  they  found  the  old  man. 
His  hair  had  become  white,  his  eyes  dim,  and  his  voice 
trembling.  Robinson  threw  himself  on  his  knees 
before  him  and  told  him  he  was  that  bad,  runaway 
boy.  He  had  been  saved  and  had  come  back  to  him 
never  to  leave  him  again.  The  old  man  laid  his  hands 
on  his  son's  head  and  thanked  God  for  having  given 
him  back  his  boy. 

"  My  readers  may  believe  me  if  I  say  the  pupils  sat 
there  spellbound,  tears  in  their  eyes,  and  many  of 
them  sobbing.  The  teacher  had  told  the  story  so 
touchingly  that  the  children's  sympathy  had  been 
aroused.  Not  an  incredulous  smile,  not  a  sneer  was 
seen,  not  a  word  was  heard  from  them  for  some 
moments  after  the  teacher  had  closed  his  narrative. 
It  was  one  of  those  moments  in  which  it  is  said  an 
angel  walks  through  the  room.  At  last  the  teacher 
roused  the  children  from  a  deep  reverie  by  asking 
them  to  repeat  this  part  of  the  story,  which  he  termed 


A  LESSON  ON  ROBINSON  CRUSOE  159 

'  Robinson's  Bitter  Repentance.'  It  was  done  with 
touching  simplicity  and  great  accuracy.  Again  the 
entire  lesson  was  reviewed,  partly  by  questioning  the 
class,  partly  by  allowing  them  to  narrate  portions  in 
a  connected  manner.  Many  new  incidents  were  added, 
and  when  at  last  the  lesson  closed,  the  story  of  Rob- 
inson Crusoe  was  finished  to  the  satisfaction  of  all 
concerned. 

"This  narration  furnishes  the  ' Gesinnungs-Stoff ' 
(material  for  the  sentiments)  of  this  class  as  other 
tales  do  in  lower,  and  as  Biblical  history  does  in  higher, 
grades.  Besides  offering  food  for  the  sentiments, 
these  lessons  increase  the  pupils'  knowledge,  give 
opportunities  for  employing  their  hands,  and  polish 
their  language.  Much  of  what  is  offered  in  a  con- 
nected manner  in  the  above  account  was  given  in 
conversation,  but  a  verbatim  repetition  might  have 
been  tedious  to  the  reader." 

The  following  outline  of  nature-  (and  object-)  study 
as  it  is  concentrated  about  the  ethical  core,  shows  that 
the  principle  of  presentation  is  by  no  means  to  be 
sought  in  the  subject-matter  itself,  but  that  it  owes 
its  place  to  suggestions  arising  from  the  fairy  tales, 
about  which  everything  is  to  be  concentrated.  The 
sequence  of  topics  is  determined  wholly  upon  psycho- 
logical grounds,  the  apperception  of  the,  pupil  as  in- 
fluenced by  instruction  in  culture  subjects  being  the 
sole  guide.  Professor  McMurry's  plan  of  concentra- 
tion found  in  Chapter  IV,  Part  II,  will  fully  illustrate 
the  manner  in  which  these  object  lessons  are  related 
to  the  central  culture  study. 


160     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 


OBJECT  LESSONS  FOR  FIRST  YEAR 

Boom.  4  walls  (names),  ceiling  and  floor.  Protects  from 
rain,  wind,  and  cold. 

Bed.  We  lie  in  bed  when  tired — sick.  Soft  and  warm  in  bed. 
We  will  not  be  sluggards. 

Clot/ting.  Names  of  parts  of  clothing.  We  wear  clothing,  (1) 
that  we  may  not  freeze,  (2;  that  we  need  not  be  ashamed, 
(3)  for  adornment,  (4)  for  carrying  things. 

Food.  (1)  There  is  much  that  we  can  eat.  (2)  We  eat  many 
things  raw,  many  boiled,  roasted,  baked.  (3)  There  are 
foods  from  flour,  flesh,  milk,  fruits,  leaves,  roots. 

The  Garden.     (1)  Shape  of  the  garden  (some  particular  garden). 

(2)  Cannot  live  in  the  garden,  for  there  are  no  walls  and 
no  roof.    There  are  vegetables,  grass,  fruit,  pleasure  gar- 
dens.   All  gardens  should  be  well  kept. 

The  Field.  (1)  There  are  cultivated  fields  and  meadows.  (2) 
The  field  gives  the  field-animals  living-place  and  food. 

(3)  In  the  field  grows  also  food  for  man.     (4)  But  we  can- 
not live  in  the  fields,  for  we  should  not  be  protected  from 
rain  and  cold. 

The  Wood.  (1)  Many  trees  stand  close  together.  (2)  In  the 
woods  it  is  pleasant  and  cool  (in  summer).  (3)  The  trees 
keep  off  the  rain.  (4)  The  trees  keep  off  the  wind.  (5) 
Berries  and  nuts  grow  in  the  woods.  (6)  One  can  easily 
hide  in  the  woods. 

The  Heavens.  (Sun,  moon,  stars.)  Form,  color,  height,  clouds. 
Sun  by  day.  Moon  and  stars  by  night.  Sun,  round  like 
a  shield  —  shines  —  makes  light,  warmth  —  setting,  rising. 
Dawn.  Twilight.  Moon,  like  sun  —  rises,  sets  —  light  — 
no  warmth,  changing  forms  —  man  in  moon.  Stars,  like 
sparks  —  some  larger  than  others  —  cannot  count  them  — 
some  men  know  them  and  their  places  (children  know  the 


OBJECT  LESSONS  FOR  FIRST  YEAR  161 

evening  star  and  the  Pleiades",  the  North  star,  and  the  Dip- 
per) —  twinkle. 

Directions.  (1)  Towards  where  the  sun  rises  is  East.  (2) 
Towards  where  it  sets  is  West.  (3)  Towards  where  the 
sun  stands  at  midday  is  South.  (4)  Towards  where  the 
sun  never  goes  is  North.  (The  children  turn  and  point  to 
various  directions.) 

Schoolhouse.  (1)  Our  schoolhouse  has  three  stories.  (2)  In 
the  first  story  are  4  rooms,  in  the  second  3,  in  the  third  2,  etc. 
(3)  School  is  held  in  the  school-rooms.  (4)  We  learn  in 
the  School. 

The  Well  (Hydrant).  (1)  Well  gives  us  water  to  drink,  to  wash, 
and  to  cook  with.  (2)  The  well  gets  water  from  the  earth. 
(3)  Fountains,  wells  with  pumps,  windlasses,  etc.,  and 
hydrants. 

Flock  of  Sheep.  (1)  The  sheep  is  a  mammal,  for  the  little  lambs 
suck  milk  from  the  mother  sheep.  (2)  The  sheep  a  good 
and  patient  animal,  for  it  does  not  kick  or  bite,  and  does 
not  become  angry  even  when  beaten.  (3)  The  sheep  is  a 
useful  animal,  for  it  gives  us  its  wool  and  its  flesh. 

Coal.  (1)  Coal  is  a  fuel.  (2)  With  coal  we  heat  the  room  — 
cooking-stoves.  (3)  We  have  charcoal,  soft  coal,  and  hard 
coal. 

The  Bean.  (1)  Shape  of  the  blossom  of  the  bean.  (2)  The 
beans  oval  shape  and  sharp-pointed.  (3)  Beans  grow  in 
pods.  (4)  The  pods  open  into  two  parts.  (5)  Beans  serve 
us  as  food. 

Waters  of  the  Neighborhood.  (1)  The  river  is  a  great  flowing 
water.  (2)  The  brook  is  a  small  flowing  water.  (3)  The 
pond  is  a  still-standing  water.  (4)  The  river  has  two  banks, 
the  pond  a  bank  all  around.  (5)  Bridges  are  built  over 
rivers.  (6)  In  the  water  are  fishes.  (7)  The  river  drives 
mills  and  floats  ships  and  boats. 

Chickens.  (1)  Chickens  are  useful  animals.  (2)  They  give  us 
their  eggs  and  their  flesh.  (3)  The  cock  crows  when  the 


162     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

day  begins  to  break.  (4)  The  hen  is  a  good  mother  to  the 
little  chickens. 

The  Squirrel.  (1)  The  squirrel  is  a  lively  little  animal.  (2)  It  can 
jump  and  climb  well.  (3)  It  is  a  gnawing  animal.  (4)  It 
lives  mostly  in  trees.  (5)  It  likes  pine  seeds  and  nuts  best. 

The  Duck.  (1)  The  duck  is  a  swimming  bird.  (2)  It  is  use- 
ful. (3)  It  gives  us  its  eggs,  feathers,  and  flesh. 

The  Mouse.  (1)  The  mouse  is  a  little  mammal.  (2)  Is  a  gnaw- 
ing animal. 

The  Goat.  (1)  The  goat  is  a  useful  animal.  (2)  Has  two 
horns  and  a  split  hoof  (cloven  hoof) .  (3)  Is  a  ruminant 
(chewer  of  the  cud). 

The  Wolf.  (1)  Is  a  wild,  ravenous  beast.  (2)  Is  a  beast  of 
prey.  (3)  Sometimes  attacks  man. 

The  Fox.  (1)  The  fox  is  a  sly,  cunning  animal.  (2)  He 
catches  poultry  and  kills  other  small  animals. 

The  Farmyard.  (1)  Yard,  (2)  house,  (3)  barns,  (4)  granaries. 
In  the  house  the  farmer  and  his  family  live,  the  animals 
in  the  stalls,  in  the  loft  is  the  hay,  in  the  granary  the  grain. 

Snow  and  Ice.  Winter  —  cold  —  ice  glittering,  first  thin  then 
thick,  sliding,  skating.  Don't  go  on  ice  too  soon.  Ice 
flowers  on  the  windows. 

Christmas.  (1)  Christmas  tree,  presents,  etc.  (2)  Christ  wishes 
all  little  children  to  be  good.  (3)  He  desires  to  have  them 
come  to  him  when  they  die. 

The  Sear.  (1)  The  bear  is  a  beast  of  prey.  (2)  He  is  a  car- 
nivorous animal.  (3)  He  is  a  cave-dweller.  (4)  What 
tricks  he  can  perform. 

The  Wren.  (1)  The  wren  is  the  smallest  singing-bird.  (2) 
Likes  best  to  stay  in  hedges  and  thickets.  (3)  Eats  flies, 
spiders,  caterpillars,  and  berries.  (4)  Sings  his  little  song 
in  summer  and  in  winter.  (5)  Is  a  cunning  bird. 

The  Hunter.  (1)  What  animals  does  he  shoot?  (2)  How 
does  he  load  his  gun  ?  (3)  Guns  dangerous  for  children 
to  handle.  (4)  What  good  do  his  dogs  do  ? 


OBJECT  LESSONS  FOR  FIRST  YEAR  163 

The  Church.  (1)  The  Church  is  a  large  house.  (2)  Many 
benches,  altar,  steps,  organ.  (3)  In  the  Church  people 
sing,  the  preacher  prays  and  preaches.  (4)  On  Sundays 
people  should  go  to  Church. 

The  Donkey.  (1)  The  donkey  is  a  useful  animal.  (2)  Has  a 
single  hoof.  (3)  Used  for  drawing  and  carrying.  (4)  Is 
slow  but  sure.  (5)  Brays. 

Dog  and  Cat.  (1)  Useful  home  animals.  (2)  Are  mammals. 
(3)  The  dog  is  a  watcher,  our  servant,  companion,  play- 
fellow, trickster ;  The  cat  is  our  mouse-trap.  (4)  The  dog 
is  true,  the  cat  treacherous. 

The  Horse.  (1)  Horse  our  largest  home  animal.  (2)  Has 
a  whole  hoof.  (3)  Is  a  beautiful,  clean,  and  wise  ani- 
mal. (4)  His  food  is  grass,  clover,  hay,  oats,  and  corn. 
(5)  Used  for  drawing  and  carrying. 

Though  the  Acht  Schuljahren,  containing  elaborate 
expositions  of  the  Herbart-Ziller  theories  of  selection, 
concentration,  and  methods  of  presenting  the  various 
studies  of  the  curriculum,  and  at  the  same  time  setting 
forth  the  entire  content  of  what  is  to  be  taught,  are  to 
be  regarded  as  the  masterpiece  of  Professor  Eein's 
activity,  yet  he  has  published  many  works  of  a  less 
comprehensive  nature.1 

In  connection  with  a  report  of  the  Practice  School 
at  Jena,  Dr.  Rein  gives  us  a  detailed  program  of  con- 
centration for  the  sixth  grade  of  an  elementary  school, 
a  sample  of  which  is  given  as  follows  :  — •• 

1  One  of  the  latest,  his  Grundriss  der  Pddagogik,  has  been  recently 
translated  by  Dr.  C.  C.  Van  Liew,  of  the  Illinois  State  Normal 
School  at  Normal,  111.,  under  the  title  Outlines  of  Pedagogy.  It 
may  be  obtained  of  C.  \V.  Bardeen,  Syracuse,  N.Y. 


164 


HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 


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CHAPTER  VII 

DR.    KARL    LANGE —  APPERCEPTION1 

IT  is  the  incomparable  service  of  Dr.  Karl  Lange, 
Director  of  the  Higher-Burgher  School,  at  Plauen, 
Germany,  to  have  shown  in  a  genial,  concrete  manner 
the  close  dependence  of  education  as  an  end  upon  psy- 
chology as  a  guide.  To  him  belongs  the  credit  of 
elucidating  a  psychological  method  by  which  every 
problem  of  the  school-room  can  be  directly  examined. 
Hitherto  most  of  our  attempts  to  make  psychology 
applicable  to  teaching  have  been  at  the  best  formal 
and  mechanical,  because  we  have  presented  psychology 
as  a  sum  of  more  or  less  isolated  theories  or  doctrines 
of  special  phases  of  mind.  Going  into  the  school-room 
with  a  schematized  body  of  psychological  distinctions 
(true  enough  it  may  be,  but  unimportant  as  a  guide  to 
education),  our  teachers  for  a  time  try  to  be  psycho- 
logical; but  they  soon  abandon  complicated  systems 

1  Apperception,  a  Monograph  on  Psychology  and  Pedagogy.  By 
Dr.  Karl  Lange,  translated  by  Elmer  E.  Brown,  Charles  De  Garmo, 
Mrs.  Eudora  Hailmann,  Florence  Hall,  George  F.  James,  L.  R. 
Klemm,  Ossian  H.  Lang,  Herman  T.  Lukens,  Charles  A.  McMurry, 
Frank  McMurry,  Theo.  B.  Noss,  Levi  Seeley,  Margaret  K.  Smith, 
and  edited  by  Charles  De  Garmo.  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  Boston,  1893. 

166 


DR.   KARL  LANGE  — APPERCEPTION  16T 

for  simple  common  sense.  But  Lange  opens  up  new 
possibilities  by  sending  the  teacher  into  the  class-room 
with  all  his  psychological  knowledge  concentrated  — 
focussed  upon  one  point, — the  mental  processes  of  the 
living  child.  All  learning  is  apperceiving.  How  shall 
I  select  the  subject-matter  of  the  studies  ?  Study  the 
ends  of  education  and  the  manner  in  which  the  child 
best  apperceives.  How  shall  I  articulate  the  instruc- 
tion ?  Study  the  same  problem  for  the  relations  of 
knowledge.  How  shall  I  present  the  lesson  and  con- 
duct the  recitation  ?  See  what  order  will  best  conduce 
to  understanding  and  interest.  What  means  shall  I 
•take  to  impart  high  ideals,  or  to  secure  right  disposi- 
tion, or  reliable  habits  of  conduct  ?  Go  to  the  same 
fountain  of  pedagogical  guidance  —  the  apperceiving 
mind  of  the  child. 

More  successfully  than  any  of  his  fellow- workers, 
perhaps,  Lange  has  succeeded  in  showing  how  this 
pedagogical  insight  may  be  acquired.  How  important 
it  is  that  modern  teachers  should  have  this  truly  sci- 
entific guidance  in  their  work  is  set  forth  in  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  the  introduction  to  the  translation 
of  Lange's  Apperception :  — 

"  It  is  now  evident  that  if  we  are  to  make  further 
progress  in  education  we  must  add  to  this  initial  im- 
pulse given  by  Pestalozzi  something  of  the  scientific 
spirit  of  the  age  in  which  we  live.  A  number  of  facts 
point  to  this  conclusion.  In  the  first  place,  the  curric- 
ulum of  studies  is  no  longer  the  simple  thing  it  was 
in  Pestalozzi's  time.  Study  after  study  has  been 
added  in  obedience  to  some  popular  demand  or  because 
of  the  esoteric  interest  of  the  schoolmaster.  What 


168     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

now  constitutes  our  curriculum  is  a  chaos  of  isolated 
subjects,  which  are  allowed,  not  from  any  demon- 
strated psychological  need,  but  because  of  some  popu- 
lar or  professional  demand.  The  only  proper  way  to 
determine  which  shall  be  eliminated,  which  abridged, 
is  to  submit  the  whole  to  a  thorough  investigation 
according  to  the  well-developed  psychology  of  the 
present  time,  since  the  primitive  systems  are  wholly 
inadequate  to  the  task.  Such  an  investigation  will 
necessarily  take  into  consideration  the  educational 
value  of  each  subject,  when  it  has  received  the  best 
possible  coordination  with  other  branches ;  it  will  con- 
sider the  natural  interests  of  the  child,  his  power  of 
comprehension,  the  effect  of  his  present  acquirements, 
disposition  and  leading  purposes  upon  his  acquisition 
of  new  knowledge,  for  all  of  these  things  will  help  to 
decide  how  the  curriculum  shall  be  made  up.  This  is 
a  problem  not  to  be  solved  by  efforts  aroused  merely 
by  emotion  or  instinct,  for  the  problem  is  essentially 
scientific  in  its  nature. 

"  We  meet  this  same  need  for  the  scientific  applica- 
tion of  psychology  to  education  in  another  direction. 
As  long  as  only  the  well-to-do  classes  were  educated, 
there  were  many  influences  to  which  we  could  appeal 
to  obtain  the  desired  results.  Were  the  child  in- 
clined to  evade  our  instruction  in  order  to  follow  his 
own  devices,  we  might  appeal  to  his  ambition,  to  emu- 
lation, to  pride,  to  shame,  to  regard  for  the  reputation 
of  family,  and  the  like;  but  when  the  streets,  the 
mines,  the  factories,  the  tenement  districts,  send  their 
children  to  school,  these  indirect  means  of  securing 
attention  to  study  are  mostly  futile.  We  stand  face 


DE.   KAKL  LANGE  — APPERCEPTION  169 

to  face  with  naked  ignorance  and  indifference,  and 
must  make  our  impression  in  a  few  short  years  or 
suffer  defeat.  We  can  no  longer  rely  on  indirect 
means  for  arousing  the  mind  to  educational  effort,  but 
must  contrive  to  awaken  a  deep,  permanent,  and  grow- 
ing interest  in  the  acquisition  and  possession  of  knowl- 
edge itself.  This  is  a  psychological  problem  involv- 
ing the  child's  acquirements,  his  natural  instincts 
and  interests,  the  content  of  the  studies,  together  with 
an  investigation  into  the  time,  order,  and  manner  of 
presenting  them.  It  appears  self-evident,  therefore, 
that  to  the  primal  inspiration  for  the  uplifting  of 
humanity,  we  must  now  add  the  intelligent  direction 
of  .psychological  science."  1 

The  Monograph  consists  of  three  parts:  1.  The 
Doctrine  of  Apperception ;  (a)  Nature  and  Kinds  of 
Apperception  ;  (6)  Conditions  of  Apperception;  (c) 
Significance  of  Apperception  in  the  Mental  Develop- 
ment of  Man. 

2.  The  Theory  of  Apperception  in  its  Application 
to   Pedagogy,     (a)  The   Object   that  is  apperceived 
(Choice   and  Arrangement  of   the  Subject-matter  of 
Education)  ;    (6)  The  Subject  that  apperceives  (In- 
vestigation, Extension,  and  Utilization  of  the  Child's 
Experience)  ;    (c)  The  Adequate  Union  of  these  Two 
Factors  in  Instruction  (Methods  of  Instruction). 

3.  History  of  the  Term  Apperception,     (a)  Leib- 
nitz, (&)  Kant,  (c)  Herbart,   (d)  Lazarus,   (e)   Stein- 
thai  (f)   Non-He rbartian   Psychologists,   (g)  Wundt. 

The   following   citations    from    the    discussion    of 
the  nature  and  kinds  of  apperception  show  to  some 
1  Lange's  Apperception,  p.  6. 


170     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

extent  the  spirit  and  method  of  the  investiga- 
tion :  — 

"  Man  enters  life  as  a  stranger ;  he  knows  nothing 
of  the  world  that  receives  him:  it  is  to  him  a  new, 
unknown  country,  which  he  must  explore,  which  he 
must  conquer.  How  is  this  to  be  done?  Nature 
assails  his  senses  with  a  thousand  allurements ;  she 
sends  the  rays  of  light  that  she  may  open  his  eyes 
to  the  innumerable  things  of  the  outer  world,  she 
knocks  upon  the  door  of  the  human  spirit  with  exci- 
tations of  tone  and  touch  and  temperature  and  all  the 
other  stimulations  of  the  sensitive  nerves,  desiring 
admission.  The  soul  answers  these  stimuli  with  sen- 
sations, with  ideas ;  it  masters  the  outer  world  by 
perceiving  it." l 

"  This  activity'  of  the  perceiving  mind,  however, 
explains  another  important  fact.  It  is  a  well-known 
experience  that  one  and  the  same  object  seldom  occa- 
sions precisely  similar  perceptions  in  the  minds  of  dif- 
ferent people.  Of  the  same  landscape  the  poet's  image 
would  differ  greatly  from  that  of  the  botanist,  the 
painter's  from  that  of  the  geologist  or  farmer,  the 
stranger's  from  that  of  him  who  calls  it  home.  In 
the  same  way,  one  and  the  same  speech  is  often 
understood  in  as  many  different  ways  as  there  are 
hearers.  What  does  not  the  child  see  in  his  toys,  the 
devout  mind  in  the  objects  of  its  devotions !  What 
does  not  the  experienced  reader  of  human  nature  see 
in  the  wrinkles  and  folds,  the  wilted  and  weather- 
beaten  features  of  a  human  face !  How  much  do  the 
gestures,  the  play  of  features,  the  glowing  or  fading 
IP.  1. 


DR.  KARL  LANGE  — APPERCEPTION  171 

fire  of  the  eye,  tell  him  of  the  battles  and  storms  of 
the  soul !  And  the  artist,  does  he  not  perceive  in  a 
work  of  art  a  thousand  things  that  escape  the  closest 
attention  of  the  ordinary  observer  ?  Has  not  each  of 
us  the  sharpest  kind  of  an  eye  for  the  objects  with 
which  our  calling  makes  us  best  acquainted  ?  In  the 
voices  of  nature  the  youthful  lover  of  birds,  like 
man  in  the  state  of  nature,  hears  the  emotional  and 
volitional  utterances  of  related  beings,  while  the 
Malay  says  of  his  bamboo  forests,  from  whose 
branches  the  wind  entices  the  most  manifold  tones: 
'The  forest  organ  plays  for  each  his  favorite  tune.'1 

"  In  order  that  a  sensation  may  arise,  there  is,  as  a 
rule,  a  fusion  or  union  of  its  content  with  similar 
ideas  and  feelings.  With  the  assistance  of  the  latter, 
the  sensation  is  held  in  consciousness,  elevated  into 
greater  clearness,  properly  related  to  the  remaining 
fields  of  thought,  and  so  truly  assimilated. 

"  "We  call  this  second  act  in  distinction  from  that 
of  simple  perception  or  the  reception  of  a  sensation, 
APPERCEPTION,  or  mental  assimilation.  This  is  a 
psychical  process  which  has  a  validity  beyond  mere 
subjective  perception,  and  is  of  the  greatest  signifi- 
cance for  all  knowledge,  yes,  even  for  our  whole 
spiritual  life.2  Let  us  see,  therefore,  the  laws  accord- 
ing to  which  this  process  is  completed. 

ip.  3. 

2  The  inquiring  mind  is  likely  to  ask  at  this  point :  Is  it  possible 
to  have  perception  without  apperception  ?  We  may  say  in  general 
that  knowledge  is  necessary  for  the  assimilation  of  knowledge,  and 
this  is  the  side  of  apperception  of  most  importance  to  us  as  teachers, 
but  some  are  curious  to  know  how,  according  to  this,  knowledge 
gets  a  start.  The  author  has  shown  at  the  beginning  that  a  spon- 


172     HEKBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

"  Suppose  we  have  the  rare  phenomenon  of  an  eclipse 
of  the  sun.  Rays  of  light  of  varying  strength  come 
from  the  lighted  part  of  the  sun's  disk,  and  fall  upon 
the  retina  of  the  eye.  A  physical  process  arising 
outside  of  the  body  affects  at  once  our  nerves  of  sight. 
Hereby  the  peripheral  ends  of  these  nerves  are  stimu- 
lated to  an  activity  that  is  conducted  as  a  nerve 
excitation  to  the  central  ends  of  the  nerves  and  there 
causes  a  specific  change  (excitation  of  the  ganglion 
cells),  which  is  characterized  as  the  release  of  the 
nerve-excitement.  This  is  a  physiological  process, 
which  in  time  and  cause  seems  bound  up  with  the 
physical  one,  but  which  is  in  its  nature  entirely  dis- 
tinguished from  it.  To  these  external  processes,  and 
conditioned  and  occasioned  by  them,  is  now  added  a 
pure  inner  activity,  which  seems  to  have  nothing  in 
common  either  with  vibrations  of  ether  or  with  nerve 

taneous  activity  on  the  part  of  the  soul  in  accordance  with  its  own 
nature  must  be  presupposed  in  order  that  we  may  have  any  expe- 
rience at  all.  In  the  case  of  the  bell,  for  instance,  the  vibrations  of 
the  air  are  contributed  by  the  object,  but  the  mental  response  that 
we  know  as  sound  comes  from  the  mind  itself.  In  this  way  it  is 
possible  for  a  knowledge  of  sounds  to  start,  without  there  having 
been  any  previous  experience  of  sounds  to  serve  as  interpreting 
ideas.  We  have  thus  in  distinction  from  the  apperception  in  which 
knowledge  is  involved  a  primary  apperception,  without  which  we 
should  never  know  anything.  As  a  rule,  Herbartian  writers 
emphasize  the  cognitive  phases  of  apperception,  in  which  new 
knowledge  is  assimilated  by  the  products  of  our  former  experience, 
in  the  form  of  knowledge,  feelings,  purposes,  interests,  etc.,  partly 
because  these  are  the  phases  of  the  subject  of  practical  importance 
to  pedagogy,  and  partly  from  the  implications  of  the  Herbartian 
system  of  psychology.  A  careful  study  of  the  historical  sketch  at 
the  close  of  Lauge's  book  will  reveal  to  the  reader  the  attitude  of 
the  various  thinkers  in  respect  to  this  topic. 


DR.   KARL  LANGE  — APPERCEPTION  173 

currents  ;  it  is  the  reaction  of  the  soul,  a  sight-sensa- 
tion. This  is  the  psychical  act  with  which  the 
perception  closes.  We  naturally  receive  from  the 
continually  changing  disk  a  variety  of  sensations, 
which,  united  and  related  to  the  same  object,  give  us 
a  picture  of  the  eclipse  of  the  sun ;  this  is  a  subjective 
perception. 

"  Only  a  new-born  infant,  in  so  far  as  it  may  be  sup- 
posed to  see  at  all,  could  stop  at  this  stage  in  the 
perception  of  the  outer  impression.  During  the  first 
months  of  life  a  human  being  would  perceive  this  rare 
celestial  phenomenon  with  dulness  and  indifference, 
and  without  understanding  or  interest.  He  will  at 
this  stage  have  nothing  to  add  to  the  given  impres- 
sion ;  he  will  indeed  not  be  aware  of  all  that  is  to  be 
seen,  so  that  he  can  take  away  none  particularly. 

"  It  is  very  different  with  the  adult.  He  gains  from 
the  same  phenomenon  of  nature  a  far  richer,  sharper, 
and  clearer  perception.  We  notice  not  only  the  grad- 
ual eclipse  of  the  sun,  but  we  recognize  also  its  cause. 
We  see  a  dark  disk  enter  the  sun's  field  of  light,  and 
say  to  ourselves  that  this  is  the  unilluminated  side  of 
the  moon,  which  in  its  passage  around  the  earth,  is 
now  passing  between  us  and  the  sun,  and  whose  cone 
of  shadow  hides  from  us  the  star  of  day.  To  this  we 
add  the  comforting  certainty,  that  all  this  has  to  do 
with  right  things,  that  the  eclipse  is  proceeding  ac- 
cording to  known  and  fixed  laws  —  a  thought  that 
goes  far  to  remove  a  large  part  of  the  emotion-stirring 
power  of  this  unusual  occurrence. 

"Whence  conies  this  perception,  so  rich  in  content 
and  clear  in  outline  ?  It  has  evidently  arisen  under 


174     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

the  influence  of  the  related  thought  content,  with 
which  we  have  met  the  outer  impressions,  and  under 
the  influence  of  the  observations  and  knowledge  that 
we  have  formerly  gained  through  instruction,  read- 
ing, and  personal  observation  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
and  their  movements.  It  was  with  the  help  of  what 
we  already  knew  of  this  keenly  expected  natural 
event,  and  of  similar  reproduced  ideas,  that  we  cre- 
ated this  new  perception  and  placed  it  in  an  orderly 
position  in  the  organism  of  our  knowledge,  so  that  it 
now  forms  a  clear  and  definite  part  of  the  same.  WE 
APPERCEIVED  IT.  Not  unessential  is  the  service  ren- 
dered by  the  will,  which  is  here  led  by  intellectual 
feelings.  As  we  were  viewing  the  astronomical 
event  with  close  attention,  it  not  only  correctly  ad- 
justed the  sense  organs  for  the  observation,  but  it 
removed  disturbing  ideas  as  far  as  possible  from  con- 
sciousness and  admitted  only  such  as  were  favorable 
for  the  assimilation  of  the  new.  This  was  accom- 
panied by  a  corresponding  physical  effort,  viz.,  that  of 
tension,  which  made  itself  felt  in  the  sensation.  At 
the  moment  of  successful  apperception,  as  would 
appear  from  Wundt's  investigations,  the  sensory 
nerve  current  was  transferred  from  the  central  ends 
of  the  nerves  to  a  region  lying  in  the  front  part  of 
the  large  brain,  which  is  reckoned  to  be  the  apper- 
ception center.  From  here  the  excitation  was  partly 
directed  back  to  the  sensory  centers,  whereby  there 
was  a  strengthening  of  the  perception,  and  partly 
conducted  further  to  the  muscles  of  the  eye,  in 
which  certain  feelings  of  tension  arose. 

"  Reviewing  now  the  parts  of  the  process  to  be  ob- 


DR.   KARL   LAN GE  —  APPERCEPTION  175 

served  in  the  act  of  perception,  we  find  an  extraordi- 
nary number  of  them :  sense  and  motor  stimuli, 
sensations  of  sight  and  muscles,  reproduced  ideas, 
activities  of  feeling  and  will  —  all  these  are  exercised 
in  the  production  of  an  apparently  simple  result  with- 
out our  being  conscious  of  the  action  simultaneously. 
There  are,  however,  two  chief  activities  to  be  distin- 
guished in  the  whole  process.  We  perceive  in  the 
eclipse,  first,  just  what  the  original  constitution  of 
our  minds  necessitates,  even  if  they  were  no  more 
developed  than  the  mind  of  an  infant.  In  this  way 
a  PERCEPTION  arises.  But  through  the  ideas  and 
skill  obtained  by  former  experience,  we  observe  much 
that  remains  hidden  to  the  inexperienced,  and  we  add 
to  the  subjective  perception  numerous  psychical  ele- 
ments from  our  well-stored  minds,  which  were  not 
immediately  given  in  the  observation.  The  mind  ap- 
prehends outer  impressions  in  accordance  with  the 
wealth  of  knowledge  gained  through  former  activity. 
THE  PROCESS  OF  PERCEPTION  BECOMES  ONE  OF  APPER- 
CEPTION." l 

Even  the  moral  nature  is  largely  dependent  upon 
the  apperception  of  ideas,  as  the  accompanying  cita- 
tion shows :  — 

"While  the  child  is  growing  intellectually,  he  is 
making  progress  ethically  as  well.  We  have  already 
seen  that  the  ruling  sphere  of  ideas  and  emotions 
determines  in  the  main  the  moral  insight  of  the 
human  being.  He  usually  judges  his  own  moral 
worth  and  that  of  others  according  to  what  he  him- 
self loves,  or  what  he  wishes  and  longs  for  for  himself, 
l  Pp.  5-8. 


176  HEKBART   AND   THE    HERBARTIANS 

There  is,  therefore,  no  doubt  that  in  early  youth, 
as  well  as  in  infancy,  the  feelings  and  interests  of 
sense  influence  to  a  considerable  extent  the  moral  con- 
sciousness of  man.  Indeed  they  can  become  the  one 
controlling  group  of  ideas  among  bad  and  uneducated 
children;  with  these  anything  is  permissible  that 
pleases.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  case  of  the  well- 
trained  child,  they  are  subordinated  more  and  more 
to  the  ideal  example  of  the  parents.  He  no  longer 
follows  blindly  this  authority,  to  which  he  has  always 
been  subject.  But  by  comparing  them  with  other 
persons  and  with  his  own  imperfect  being,  he  comes 
gradually  to  feel  an  unlimited  reverence  for  his 
parents,  which  makes  voluntary  obedience  toward 
them  a  duty,  and  causes  their  example  to  be  regarded 
as  a  model.  And  soon  other  authority  is  associated 
with  theirs ;  namely,  that  of  teachers,  near  relatives, 
leaders  among  school  companions,  and  masters  with 
their  servants.  Especially  in  sacred  history  does 
God,  the  Perfect  and  Just  One,  appear  as  the  highest 
authority,  whose  supreme  will  and  control  impress 
themselves  indelibly  upon  the  pupil's  mind.  These 
are  the  examples  which  especially  determine  his  moral 
conceptions,  and  hence  control  his  apperception  on 
moral  questions.  They  are  vividly  in  mind  when  he 
acts ;  they  are  his  conscience.  Not  as  though  he  were 
unable  to  distinguish  for  himself  what  is  good  or 
bad.  He  knows  unworthy  deeds  or  worthy  motives  in 
themselves  very  well,  entirely  apart  from  all  thought 
of  what  his  parents,  or  teacher,  or  God  would  say  on 
the  matter.  But  such  pure,  independent  moral  feel- 
ings and  judgments  do  not  appear  at  this  stage  of 


DR.    KARL   LANGE  — APPERCEPTION  177 

development  in  the  abstract,  but  rather  in  connection 
with  certain  model  examples.  Just  as  the  thought 
of  a  child  in  all  spheres  of  knowledge  deals  in  part 
with  very  imperfect  general  pictures,  not  with  general 
concepts,  so  in  the  field  of  ethics  his  morality  does  not 
show  itself  effective  in  the  abstract  form  of  the  idea, — 
the  principle,  —  but  in  the  concrete  form  of  the  ideal. 
When  one  observes  closely  what  guides  the  moral 
judgment  in  early  youth,  one  finds  that,  in  most 
cases,  the  example  of  some  real  person  closely  re- 
lated to  the  child  consciously  or  unconsciously  exerts 
a  deciding  influence  in  the  apperception,  and  thus 
largely  determines  the  will."  : 

In  his  discussion  of  the  selection  and  arrangement 
of  the  studies  Lauge  gives  a  thoroughgoing  critique  of 
Ziller's  position,  differing  from  him  in  important  par- 
ticulars, yet  acknowledging  much  truth  in  his  presen- 
tation. The  following  citation  summarizes  Lange's 
position :  — 

"  Let  us  now  sum  up  briefly  the  requirements  that 
have  revealed  themselves  in  reference  to  the  object  of 
apperception.  In  general  this  direction  holds  good : 
Offer  to  the  child  always  that  knowledge  for  whose 
thorough  assimilation  the  most  favorable  conditions 
are  present  or  easy  to  create. 

"  How  can  this  be  done  ? 

"  1.  Such  materials  of  knowledge  must  be  chosen  as 
lie  close  to  child  experience  in  general,  and  likewise 
to  the  consciousness  of  the  people,  i.e.,  the  subject- 
matter  of  national  culture. 

"  2.  They  must,  as  regards  content  and  form,  take 
1  Pp.  79,  80. 


178     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

into  consideration  certain  peculiarities  of  the  child's 
intellectual  development. 

"3.  They  are  to  be  arranged  in  such  a  manner  that 
every  topic  shall  create  for  the  following  ones  numer- 
ous strong  aids  to  apperception ;  i.e.,  according  to  his- 
torical sequence  (Law  of  Propaedeutics). 

"4.  The  various  parallel  subjects  of  the  curriculum 
are  to  be  arranged  in  such  a  manner  that  in  each  grade 
as  many  as  possible  allied  topics  may  be  associated, 
so  that  what  is  related  in  fact,  may  be  related  in  the 
consciousness  of  the  child  (Law  of  Coordination,  or 
Concentration  of  Studies). 

"  In  so  far  as  the  simultaneous  realization  of  the  fore- 
going requirements  does  not  meet  insurmountable  dif- 
ficulties they  may  be  regarded  as  valid.  And  indeed 
in  most  cases  they  will  support  and  confirm  one  an- 
other. Yet  the  possibility  is  by  no  means  excluded 
that  one  or  the  other  of  these  requirements  will  clash 
with  the  rest.  Certain  material  may  be  chosen  in 
accordance  with  the  historical  principle,  which  in  con- 
tent and  form  expects  too  much  from  the  child  at  a 
certain  epoch  of  his  development.  Or  the  unequal  rate 
of  historical  progress  in  the  different  branches  does 
not  admit  of  a  useful  concentration  in  the  instruction. 
And  the  case  is  also  conceivable  that,  in  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  third  and  fourth  requirements,  the  intrin- 
sic value  of  the  subject-matter  for  instruction  might 
not  receive  its  full  due.  In  all  these  cases  it  is  advis- 
able to  limit  one  requirement  by  another,  as  far  as  is 
necessary,  and  not  to  lose  sight  of  the  chief  principle 
while  considering  special  applications.  This  refers  to 
the  last  two  directions ;  while  the  first  two,  which 


DR.   KARL  LANGE  — APPERCEPTION  179 

have  reference  to  given,  unchangeable  facts,  cannot 
be  subjected  to  any  limitation.  It  does  not  lie  within 
the  province  of  this  discussion  to  sketch  a  complete 
curriculum  of  studies  in  accordance  with  the  foregoing 
principles,  even  for  one  grade  of  school.  Only  a  few 
practical  conclusions  may  be  permitted  to  us  in  con- 
nection with  these  general  requirements." 1 

With  the  Herbartian  conception  of  certain  necessary 
stages  in  all  rational  methods  of  teaching  Lange  is  in 
substantial  accord,  though  his  fine  perception  of  the 
eternal  fitness  of  things  warns  seriously  against  allow- 
ing teaching  processes  to  be  conducted  mechanically 
according  to  formulas,  however  excellent  in  them, 
selves.  His  book  closes  with  a  brief  history  of  the 
term  Apperception  as  it  has  been  used  in  the  history 
of  philosophy. 

Were  there  no  other  useful  book  among  the  myriad 
Herbartian  publications,  this  one  gem  would  justify 
the  existence  of  the  whole  number,  so  genial,  so  true, 
so  helpful,  so  inspiring  is  it  in  its  treatment  of  the 
main  problems  of  education. 

i  Pp.  132, 133. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

DR.  KARL  VOLKMAR  STOY  —  LEADER  OP  THE  CONSER- 
VATIVE HERBARTIANS 

PROFESSOR  STOY  was  born  in  Pegau,  Saxony,  in  the 
year  1815.  He  attended  school  in  Meissen,  and  stud- 
ied at  the  universities  of  Leipzig  and  Gottingen.  At 
the  latter  place  he  attended  the  lectures  of  Herbart, 
who  inspired  him  with  a  love  of  philosophy  and  peda- 
gogy. After  closing  his  work  as  a  student,  he  began 
teaching  in  Weinheim  in  1839,  going  to  Jena  in  1842, 
where  in  the  following  year  he  qualified  as  privat 
docent  in  Philosophy.  About  the  same  time  he  took 
charge  of  a  local  private  school,  which  under  his  lead- 
ership attained  a  high  reputation.  Pupils  gathered 
to  it  from  all  over  Europe,  the  survivors  among  them 
rejoicing  even  yet  in  the  thoughts  of  their  school 
days  under  their  beloved  principal.1  In  the  year 
1845,  Dr.  Stoy  was  made  a  Professor  at  the  univer- 
sity. In  1865  he  moved  to  Heidelberg;  during  the 
year  1867  he  established  a  normal  school  at  Bielitz 
in  accordance  with  Herbartian  principles,  returning 
to  Jena  in  1874,  where  he  remained  until  his  death 
in  1885. 

1  Compare  Wiessner,  Ilerbart's  Pddagogik,  p.  105. 
180 


DR.  KARL  VOLKMAR   STOY  181 

The  greatest  monument  of  his  work  in  Jena  is  the 
pedagogical  seminary,  with  its  accompanying  practice 
school,  now  so  ably  presided  over  by  Dr.  Rein.  One 
of  the  peculiarities  of  this  seminary  is  that  it  is  an 
organic  part  of  the  university,  receiving  a  yearly  sti- 
pend from  the  state. 

The  Professor  of  Pedagogy  is  the  real  head  of  both 
seminary  and  practice  school,  though  there  is  a  head- 
master in  the  practice  school  who  presides  in  the  ab- 
sence of  the  Professor.  There  are  three  distinct  meet- 
ings held  each  week  at  which  the  presence  of  all  the 
students  belonging  to  the  seminary  is  required.  The 
first  is  called  a  Pratikum,  which  consists  of  one  or 
two  model  recitations  conducted  by  student-teachers 
of  the  practice  school.  This  exercise  is  not  to  be  an 
examination  of  the  pupils,  but  a  typical  illustration  of 
the  art  of  instruction.  Each  member  of  the  seminary 
makes  full  notes  upon  the  exercise,  one  of  the  num- 
ber being  appointed  to  bring  in  later  a  written  critique 
of  the  whole  performance.  The  Pratikum  is  held  on 
Wednesdays. 

The  second  meeting,  called  Theoretikum,  is  held  in  a 
classroom  of  the  university,  being  conducted  by  the 
Professor.  At  this  conference  the  time,  iisually  one 
hour,  is  devoted  to  the  discussion  and  elucidation  of 
such  technical  or  special  questions  as  have  arisen  in 
the  practice  school  during  the  week.  Many  of  these 
concern  the  principles  of  methods,  the  treatment  of 
special  difficulties  in  discipline,  the  mental  condition 
of  individual  pupils;  further,  the  examination  of 
special  books  on  methods,  of  school  text-books,  and 
the  laying  out  of  programs  of  study.  Often  a  student 


182     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

is  appointed  beforehand  to  bring  in  a  written  paper 
upon  an  assigned  topic. 

The  writer  well  remembers  the  first  task  Professor 
Stoy  set  him,  when  as  a  student  with  small  knowledge 
of  German,  he  entered  the  university  of  Jena.  It 
read  as  follows :  "  Psychological  Analysis  of  the 
Observation  of  Natural  Objects."  After  long  labor 
over  English  psychologies,  and  the  greater  labor  of 
putting  the  results  into  German,  even  with  the  assist- 
ance of  Herr  Theo.  Storch,  a  charitable  fellow-mortal, 
the  paper  was  at  length  read  before  the  wondering 
students.  The  Professor  was  very  kind  in  his  total 
rejection  of  the  whole  as  a  mechanical  and  valueless 
piece  of  work.  He  finally  dismissed  the  paper  by 
saying  that  it  was  merely  an  observation  about  a  psy- 
chological analysis  of  the  observation  of  natural  ob- 
jects, not  an  analysis  at  all. 

The  TJieoretikum  was  held  from  seven  to  eight  P.M. 
on  Fridays.  Immediately  upon  adjournment,  the  sem- 
inary reassembled  in  a  room  of  a  neighboring  hotel, 
where  an  apartment  was  always  held  in  readiness  for 
it  on  this  evening  of  the  week.  This  meeting  was 
called  the  Conference. 

In  Dr.  S  toy's  time,  some  twenty  persons  were 
usually  assembled  at  that  hour,  seated  about  long 
tables  arranged  in  the  form  of  the  capital  letter  T. 
Behind  the  cross-table  at  the  head  of  the  room  sat  Dr. 
Stoy  upon  the  inevitable  German  sofa.  The  purpose 
of  the  Conference  was  to  hear  the  reports  of  the  critics 
upon  the  recitations  that  had  been  conducted  on  the 
previous  Wednesday  at  the  Pratikum.  After  a  few 
preliminaries  the  person  who  presented  the  model 


DR.   KARL   VOLKMAR   STOY  183 

recitation  read  a  written  self-criticism  of  the  effort,  tell- 
ing what  he  had  tried  to  do,  his  methods  of  procedure, 
and  his  own  judgment  as  to  the  degree  of  success  he 
had  obtained.  This  was  followed  immediately  by  the 
report  of  the  appointed  critic,  who  usually  went  into 
details,  fortifying  his  conclusions  by  facts  and  argu- 
ments. As  soon  as  the  reading  of  this  critique  had 
been  concluded,  the  person  whose  work  Avas  under  ex- 
amination replied  to  his  critic,  either  acknowledging 
the  justice  of  his  criticisms,  or  showing  reasons  why 
he  did  not  regard  them  as  valid.  At  this  point,  the 
discussion  was  thrown  open  to  students  and  teachers 
alike,  each  speaking  upon  whatever  point  seemed  to 
him  most  worthy  of  comment.  The  Conference  lasted 
until  11  o'clock,  when  it  was  closed  by  Professor  Stoy 
himself  with  a  masterly  review  of  the  whole  dis- 
cussion. 

The  Encyclopedia  of  Pedagogics  is  Stoy's  chief 
work.  The  first  edition  was  issued  in  1861,  and  the 
second,  enlarged  and  amended,  in  1878.  Besides 
these  may  be  mentioned  School  and  Life,1  House  Ped- 
agogy in  Monologues  and  Addresses?  House  and  School 
Police  (Government)?  Two  Days  in  an  English  Gym- 
nasium (1860),  Organization  of  the  Normal  School* 
Home  Geography  and  Instruction  in  Language,5  and 
many  articles  in  the  Schulzeitung,  whose  editor  he 
was  from  1870  to  1882. 

Stoy's  service  to  the  cause  of  didactics  is  more  a 

1  Schule  und  Leben,  1844. 

2  Hauspddagogik,  1855. 

8  Haus-und  Schulpolizei,  1856. 

4  Organization  des  Lehrer seminars,  1869. 

6  Heimatskunde  und  Spruchunterricht. 


184     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

vigorous  restatement  of  Herbart's  doctrines  than  a 
contribution  of  new  ideas.  The  subject  of  instruc- 
tion he  treats  under  three  heads,  —  Statics,  Propaedeu- 
tics, and  Concentration. 

1.  Of  the  Statics  of  instruction,  he  says  that  there 
must  always  be  provision  made  for  intellectual,  ethi- 
cal, and  religious  training,  and  that  food  for  these 
three  chief  interests  must  always  be  provided  in  the 
program.     We  must  care  for  soundness  of  heart  quite 
as  much  as  for  soundness  of  head.     A  certain  propor- 
tion must  consequently  always  be  observed  among 
the  three  kinds  of  material  —  a  static  consideration. 

2.  Propaedeutics.      Since  only  by  the  utilization  of 
present  stores  of  knowledge  and  experience  can  any 
instruction  hope  to  succeed,  it  follows  that  he  who 
instructs  without  heeding  this   law  of  apperception 
"  plays  on  a  harp  without  strings."     Every  step  taken 
must,  therefore,  be  a  preparation  for  the  next  one, 
forming  its   indispensable    basis.      Everything    that 
could  lessen  the  activity  and  association  of   ideas 
must  consequently  be  vigorously  avoided.      The  spe- 
cial principles  of  this  forward  (dynamic)  view  of  in- 
struction must  be  sought  in  the  psychological  study 
of  apperception  and  apperceiving  interest. 

3.  Concentration.     If  the  statics  of  instruction  de- 
termines the  juxtaposition  of  studies,   and  the  pro- 
paedeutics the  succession,  both  together  constituting 
"the  two  dimensions  of  instruction,"  there  yet  lies 
in  the  enormous  extent  of  possible  and  even  needful 
subject-matter  a  necessity  of  a  peculiar  kind,  at  first 
of  a  negative  character.     There  arises  the  necessity 
of  repelling   everything   that   could   disturb  the  re- 


DR.   KARL  VOLKMAR   STOY  185 

awakening,  the  facility  and  connectedness  of  ideas,  so 
that  the  problem  arises  of  promoting  to  the  great- 
est possible  degree,  unity  of  basal  knowledge,  connec- 
tion of  that  which  is  related,  and  the  association  of 
supplementary  ideas,  so  that  time  and  strength  may 
be  economized.  To  explain  how  this  can  be  done  is 
the  business  of  concentration. 

But  with  concentration  in  Ziller's  sense,  Professor 
Stoy,  with  the  partisanship  known  only  to  rival  German 
professors,  would  have  nothing  to  do.  He  regarded 
the  whole  plan  as  an  exaggerated  and  visionary 
scheme.  To  his  friend  Dr.  Bartel  in  Gera  he  wrote  : 
"I  should  be  thankful  to  you  if,  in  the  interest  of 
truth,  you  would  take  occasion  to  say  that  I  have 
nothing  to  do  with  Ziller's  novelties.  I  regard  them 
as  harmful  exaggerations,  as  wrecks  from  the  great 
structures  of  Herbart.  I  am  in  harmony  with  you 
when,  in  conclusion,  I  express  my  final  judgment: 
Everything  new  in  this  Ziller  business  is  not  good, 
and  everything  good  in  it  is  not  new." 

As  a  summary  of  Stoy's  position,  together  with 
that  of  his  sympathizers,  the  following  points  may  be 
recapitulated :  — 

1.  He  holds  fairly  to  the  Herbartian  basis  of  meta- 
physics, psychology,  and  ethics. 

2.  He  accepts  in  the  main  the  idea  of  historical 
development  as  a  guide  to  the  presentation   of  the 
culture  subjects. 

3.  He    rejects    unconditionally    Fairy    Tales    and 
Kobinson  Crusoe,  which  with  the  disciples  of  Ziller 
form   the   core   of   concentration   for   the   first   and 
second  years. 


186     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

4.  He  rejects  with  even  greater   emphasis  Ziller's 
scheme  of  concentration,  whereby  all  the  other  sub- 
jects of  the  curriculum  are  to  be  grouped  about  an 
ethical  core  of  concentration,  consisting  for  the  most 
part  of  Biblical  and  profane  history,  with  an  introduc- 
tion of  Volks  lore  and  Robinson  Crusoe. 

5.  He  believes  in  the  formal  steps  of  instruction  as 
a  rational  guide  to  teaching. 

Stoy  himself  was  small  of  stature,  homely  of 
feature,  eccentric  in  behavior  and  dress ;  but  kind  of 
heart,  earnest  of  purpose,  and  helpful  always  to  those 
who  sought  him, —  a  man  whose  memory  is  held  dear 
by  many  hearts. 


CHAPTER  IX 

DR.    OTTO    FRICK,    LATE    DIRECTOR    OP    THE    FRANK- 
ISCHEN  STIFTUNGEN  IN  HALLE 

APPLICATION  OF  HERBARTIAN  IDEAS  TO  SECONDARY 
EDUCATION 

IF  to  Dr.  Rein  and  his  co-workers  belongs  the  credit 
of  applying  Herbartian  principles  to  the  work  of  the 
elementary  schools,  it  is  to  Dr.  Otto  Frick  and  his 
fellow-laborers  that  we  must  ascribe  the  credit  of 
applying  them  to  secondary  education.  What  Rein 
does  on  the  Ziller  basis  for  the  Volks  schools,  Frick 
has  done  on  the  Stoy  basis  for  the  gymnasiums. 
Nor  is  it  strange  that  Dr.  Frick  should  with  Stoy 
reject  the  Ziller  plan  of  concentration,  for  in  the  ad- 
vanced classes  of  the  gymnasium,  to  conduct  natural 
science  as  subordinated  to  literature,  history,  and 
religion,  would  be  to  caricature  the  whole  subject  of 
science,  making  it  conform  to  principles  not  its  own. 
Men  made  a  dismal  failure  of  science  when  they 
taught  it  by  literary  methods ;  if  in  addition  to  this 
they  had  selected  and  arranged  it  according  to  the 
laws  of  literary  selection  and  sequence,  it  would  have 
presented  a  sorry  spectacle.  Natural  science,  at  least 

187 


188     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

in  its  higher  stages,  is  not  amphibious,  living  as  well 
in  one  element  as  the  other. 

Dr.  Otto  Frick  was  the  son  of  a  preacher  in  Bran- 
denburg, and  was  born  at  Schmitsdorf  in  the  year  1832. 
After  completing  his  university  education  at  Berlin  and 
Halle,  he  became  Director  of  the  Gymnasium  at  Burg. 
In  1880  he  was  appointed  Director  of  the  Frankischen 
Stiftungen  at  Halle,  a  most  responsible  position  and 
one  offering  a  wide  range  for  pedagogical  observation 
and  experiment.  This  school,  founded  for  the  poor, 
especially  orphans,  two  hundred  years  ago  by  Francke, 
now  comprises  a  series  of  schools  having  some  four 
thousand  pupils  and  students  of  all  grades  and  condi- 
tions of  life.  Almost  every  variety  of  school  known  to 
the  German  system  is  here  represented,  —  Gymnasium, 
Real  Gymnasium,  Normal  School,  Volks  Schools,  Bur- 
gher-schools, Higher  Girls'  Schools,  Orphan  Schools, 
and  the  like. 

It  was  the  writer's  good  fortune  to  be  associated 
with  Dr.  Frick  for  two  years  in  a  local  branch  of  the 
Verein  fur  Wissentschaftliche  Padagogik,  which  met 
two  evenings  in  each  month  for  the  discussion  of 
pedagogical  topics  from  the  Herbartian  standpoint. 
He  was  a  large,  fine-looking  man,  of  grave  demeanor. 
Whenever  he  spoke,  one  listened  as  to  a  master. 
Although  independent  in  thought,  he  was  yet  generous 
to  opponents,  and  not  slow  in  recognizing  their  strong 
points.  From  Herbart  he  differed  mainly  on  psycho- 
logical grounds.  He  could  not  join  him  in  regarding 
the  soul  as  the  empty  meeting-place  of  ideas,  but  was 
disposed  to  ascribe  a  considerable  content  to  the  soul 
itself,  aside  from  ideas  gained  through  experience. 


APPLICATION  OF  HERBARTIAN  IDEAS        189 

There  is,  he  thought,  a  distinct  constitution  of  mind 
itself,  which  should  be  recognized  in  education.  It 
was  a  serious  loss  to  the  teaching  profession  when 
this  able,  industrious  man  was  cut  off  in  the  prime  of 
his  usefulness  by  sudden  death,  in  January  of  the  year 
1892. 

In  educational  theory  Dr.  Frick  agrees  so  nearly 
with  Professor  Stoy  that  a  separate  exposition  of  their 
views  is  hardly  needed.  His  opinions  may,  however,  be 
found  in  his  two  monographs,  Didactic  Principles,1  and 
Unity  of  the  School.2  Dr.  Frick's  service  to  the  cause 
of  education  is  not  to  be  measured,  however,  by  these 
monographs,  but  rather  by  the  quarterly  magazine, 
Lehrproben  und  Lehrgdnge  aus  der  Praxis  der  Gymna- 
sien  und  Realschulen,3  which  he  and  Gustav  Richter 
established  in  1884,  and  which  he  edited  until  his 
death  in  1892.  This  magazine,  as  its  name  indicates, 
is  devoted  to  the  selection  and  arrangement  of  studies, 
and  to  extended  expositions  of  the  methods  to  be  pur- 
sued in  every  variety  of  subject.  It  constitutes  a  rich 
mine  of  didactic  treasures,  all  bearing  more  or  less 
clearly  the  Herbartian  stamp. 

Dr.  Frick's  contributions,  especially  upon  historical 
and  theoretical  topics,  greatly  enrich  the  magazine. 
After  eight  years  of  constant  discussion,  he  presented 
in  the  twenty-eighth  number  what  he  calls  the  outline 
of  an  organically  arranged  course  of  study  for  a  clas- 
sical gymnasium,  in  which  each  subject  or  group  of 

1  In  wieweit  sind  die  Herbart-Ziller-Stoy  'schen  Didactischen 
Grundsdtzefiir  den  Unterricht  an  den  hohern  Schulen  zu  verwerten. 
2Einheit  der  Schule. 
8  Verlay  der  Buchhandlung  des  Waisenhauses,  Halle,  Germany. 


190     HEEBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

subjects  has  a  rational  development,  and  in  which 
there  is  as  much  coordination  as  the  age  of  the  pupils 
and  the  nature  of  the  subjects  demand. '  In  his  view 
the  gymnasium  is  an  institution  whose  domain  lies  in 
the  three  great  fields  of  education  denominated  with 
us  as  elementary,  secondary,  and  higher.  Dr.  Frick 
divides  the  gymnasium  course  of  nine  years  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

1.  ELEMENTARY.     First  two  years,  age  of  pupils 
from  10  to  12  years. 

2.  SECONDARY.     Next  four  years,  age  of  pupils  12 
to  16  years. 

3.  HIGHER.     Last  three  years,  age  of  pupils  16  to 
19  years. 

The  Elementary  stage  is  looked  upon  as  a  prepara- 
tion for  the  more  serious  work  involved  in  the  Sec- 
ondary one,  while  the  Higher  stage  is  regarded  as  the 
proper  one  for  the  systematic,  rational  coordination 
of  related  studies.  It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  try  to 
make  infant  philosophers,  the  task  being  not  only  im- 
practicable, but  also  undesirable.  Children  readily 
form  a  network  of  associations  among  various  studies 
if  the  connections  are  brought  to  consciousness ;  but 
we  must  wait  until  the  stages  of  higher  education  are 
reached  before  there  can  be  any  intelligent  grasp  of 
far-reaching  interrelations.  This  being  the  case,  the 
course  of  study  laid  out  by  Dr.  Frick,  though  by  his 
wish  to  be  regarded  as  tentative  and  illustrative,  may 
be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  carefully  planned  pro- 
grams ever  printed.  It  purports  to  be  rather  an  or- 
ganization than  an  aggregation  of  studies.  In  it  he 
has  had  three  things  constantly  in  mind,  viz.:  — 


COURSE   OF  STUDY  FOR  A  GYMNASIUM        191 

1.  The  Selection  of  Material. 

2.  The  Sifting  of  Material. 

3.  The  Articulation  or  Coordination  of  Material. 
The  courses  as  arranged  by  Dr.  Frick  will  now  be 

represented.  It  will  be  noted  that  form  studies,  like 
mathematics  and  grammar,  are  not  inserted,  not  be- 
cause they  do  not  have  to  be  taught,  but  that  they 
may  not  obscure  the  view  of  the  other  subjects.  Fol- 
lowing the  course  will  be  found  some  expository  re- 
marks. 

COURSE  OF  STUDY  FOR  A  GYMNASIUM 
A.   ELEMENTARY  STUDIES  —  Two  YEARS  —  AGE  10  TO  12 

SEXTA  FIRST    TEAR 

Geography.  —  (1st  Semester.)  The  typical  geographical  con- 
cepts illustrated  by  the  home  environment.  Introduction 
to  understanding  of  Relief,  and  the  reading  of  a  map. 
General  lessons  upon  the  globe. 

(2d  Semester.)  Division  of  the  earth  into  land  and 
water.  General  descriptive  view  of  all  the  continents. 
Natural  History.  —  First  introduction  into  systematic  obser- 
vation of  plant  and  animal  life,  according  to  chief  types 
as  found  in  the  child's  environment.  (Biological  home 
studies.)  In  summer  the  plants,  in  winter  the  animals, 
are  brought  to  the  front. 

Enlivening  of  the  geography  heretofore  presented. 

Opening  up  of  the  home  environment.   The  awakening  and 
cultivation  of  the  feeling  for  nature  and  home  surroundings. 
History.  —  Preparatory  introduction  into  the  chief  typical  forms 
of  historical  life.     (The  simplest  social  communities.) 

(1st  Semester.)  The  Odyssey  (Grecian  heroic  age). 
First  opening  up  of  the  antique  world  and  its  geographical 
theatre. 


192     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

(2d  Semester.)  Niebelungen  Tales  (German  heroic 
age).  First  opening  up  of  the  German  ancient  world  and 
its  geographical  theatre. 

German. — (The  center  of  instruction.)  A  National  Reading 
Book,  Part  I  (with  an  appendix  of  the  local  or  home  en- 
vironment), for  extending  and  deepening  the  impression 
and  concepts  obtained  in  local  geography  and  natxiral  his- 
tory. Pictures  illustrating  local  traditions. 

Latin.  —  Meurer,  Pauli  Sextani  liber  (that  is,  connected  read- 
ing material  concerning  home  regions  ;  extension  into  the 
Roman  world  or  connected  lessons  from  Roman  History, 
perhaps  a  history  of  the  kings,  standing  midway  between 
tradition  and  history,  or  between  patriarchal  and  heroic 
times). 

Religion.  —  Biblical  History  of  the  Old  Testament.  (Time  of 
the  Patriarchs,  Heroes,  Judges,'  Kings.)  Personal  relation 
of  the  same  (the  community)  and  of  the  whole  Israelitic 
people  to  God.  The  most  general  facts  of  the  Catechism 
are  learned  from  the  Bible  History,  especially  the  first 
Article  and  the  Ten  Commandments. 

QUINTA  —  SECOND    TEAE 

Geography.  —  Lands.  More  minute  description  (with  an  em- 
phasis of  geographical  types). 

(1st  Semester.)  Home  province,  and  state,  and  the  whole 
of  Germany. 

(2d  Semester.)  The  remainder  of  Europe. 

Natural  History.  —  Extension  of  observation  to  neighboring 
regions  in  order  to  enlarge  the  observation  of  plant  and 
animal  life  according  to  important  types.  Extension  of 
study  to  foreign  lands. 

In  summer  and  winter  as  in  Sexta. 

History.  —  A  closed  circle  of  typical  pictures  from  ancient, 
middle,  and  especially  modern  national  history.  (Prepara- 
tory excursion  through  German  history  for  a  general  con- 
ception of  the  whole  ;  essentially  the  history  of  kings  and 
emperors,  with  pictures  of  cities,  state,  and  national 
organization.) 


COURSE   OF  STUDY   FOR  A  GYMNASIUM       193 

German.  — A  National  Eeading  Book,  Part  II,  corresponding  to 
Part  I  for  Sexta,  but  with  stronger  emphasis  upon  national 
history,  legends,  and  historical  poems  from  ancient  and 
mediaeval  German  history.  Characterizations  of  great  his- 
torical personalities  therein  considered. 

Religion.  —  Bible  history  of  the  New  Testament,  the  middle 
point  to  be  the  life  of  Jesus  as  well  as  his  personal  relation 
to  God.  General  conception  of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  as 
the  highest  social  community.  The  Catechism  as  in  Sexta, 
especially  the  second  Article,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the 
formulas  used  in  baptism  and  at  the  communion  service. 


B.  SECONDARY  STUDIES  —  FOUR  YEARS  —  AGE  12  TO  16 

QUARTA  —  THIRD   TEAR 

Geography.  — Land  divisions.  Extended  description  (with  em- 
phasis of  types)  of  non-European  countries.  Especial 
study  of  German  colonies. 

Natural  Science.  —  Elementary  and  General.  (1st  Semester.) 
Physical  geography. 

(2d  Semester.)   Geology   (according  to  the  scope  and 
treatment  of  the  subject  in  the  books  of  Geikie- Schmidt). 

History.  —  Grecian  history  in  thoroughgoing  manner.  A  care- 
ful selection  and  a  rounded  period  of  the  elements  of 
historical  life.  (Types  of  historical  observation  and  con- 
ception.) 

German. — The  Franco-Prussian  War  of  1870-71,  in  a  form 
prepared  for  schools.  A  few  of  the  most  important  war 
poems  ;  then  furnished  with  material  from  Grecian  history 
and  culture,  e.g.  Geibel,  Schiller  (Ring  des  Polykr.,  Kraniche 
des  Ibycus) . 

Latin.  — Cornelius  Nepos.  Chosen  lives  of  warriors  and  states- 
men, particularly  of  Grecian  history  (or  a  suitable  prepa- 
ration of  the  same  material) . 

Religion.  —  Characteristic  types  of  heroes,  evangelists,  apostles, 
in  accordance  with  evangelical  and  apostolic  history,  in  the 


194     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

center  Paul  (his  personal  relation  to  Christ  and  God).  The 
beginnings  of  the  Church  and  a  general  idea  of  the  same. 
Catechism,  third  Article.  Systematic  treatment  and  elabo- 
ration of  the  first  three. 


TERTIA    B  —  FOURTH    TEAR 

Geography.  — From  General  Geography.  (1st  Semester.)  The 
atmosphere,  air  currents,  temperature  and  rainfall.  Cli- 
mate. The  sea  currents  —  most  important  lines  of  com- 
merce (from  Commercial  Geography). 

(2d  Semester.)   Plant  and  animal  distribution  according 
to  characteristic  types  and  differences. 

N.B.   Always  (1  and  2)  with  repetition  and  utilization  of 
previously  obtained  knowledge  of  the  various  countries. 

Natural  Science. — Systematic  connected  view  of  the  most  im- 
portant organisms  and  laws.     (1st  Semester.)   Plants. 
(2d  Semester.)   Animals. 

History.  —  Roman  history  as  in  Quarta.  As  a  new  type  for 
observation  and  study  we  have  the  forming  of  the  empire 
(Imperium  Romanum). 

German.  —  Reading  Book  with  complete  selections.  The  Ger- 
man Napoleonic  Wars  (with  especial  utilization  of  local 
traditions),  and  the  songs  of  this  period. 

Latin.  —  Csesar,  Bello  Gallico  (the  personality  of  Caesar,  the  old- 
est conditions  of  the  Gallic  and  German  races  in  their  con- 
nection with  the  Roman  world).  Struggle  for  independence, 
with  a  background  of  geographical  and  ethnographical 
facts.  (Preparation  for  Tacitus,  Germanica  and  Annals.) 
Ovid,  Metamorphoses.  Choice  of  complete  selections  with 
a  view  to  historical  and  culture  epoch. 

Greek.  —  Xenophon,  Anabasis.  Background  of  military  and 
world's  historical  view  —  interest  in  individual  personali- 
ties ;  geographical  and  ethnographical  pictures  of  civiliza- 
tion (as  in  Caesar),  involving  regions  through  which  the 
pupil  is  led  in  Bible  and  apostolic  history,  the  Trojan 
legend,  Herodotus,  Curtius,  and  the  Crusades. 


COURSE  OF  STUDY  FOR  A  GYMNASIUM       195 

French.  —  A  reading  material  as  in  the  French  Reading  Book 
upon  the  history  of  the  German  Napoleonic  Wars,  by  Chr. 
Ufer,  Altenburg,  1887.  Dlumination  of  the  epoch  through 
French  sources. 

Religion.  —  (1st  Semester.)  The  history  of  the  Apostles  read. 
(Elaboration  of  the  matter  presented  iu  Quarta.) 

(2d  Semester.)  View  of  the  wider  extension  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church  (Augustinus,  Bonifacius,  Luther).  The  Cate- 
chism completed  and  review  of  the  organization  of  the 
whole  (compare  L.  Schlutze,  Katechetische  Bausteine,  1887). 

TERTIA  A  —  FIFTH   YEAR 

Geography. — From  General  Geography.  (1st  Semester.)  Miner- 
alogy, where  possible,  with  utilization  of  home  observations, 
together  with  an  introduction  into  the  most  elementary 
ideas  in  chemistry. 

(2d  Semester.)  Consideration  of  the  earth  as  a  seat  of 
life  ;  its  relations  to  the  other  heavenly  bodies. 

Natural  Science.  —  Introduction  to  Physics.  Employment  of 
knowledge  acquired  in  Quarta. 

History.  —  (Through  Secunda  B  and  A.)  German  history  in 
elaborate  presentation.  Elaboration  of  the  separate  epochs 
presented.  The  historical  observations  and  conceptions 
obtained  in  Quarta  and  Tertia  B  are  enlarged  and 
deepened  through  careful  elaboration  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  German  people.  The  opposition  between 
Church  and  state  is  new,  as  is  also  the  growing  world- 
commerce  ;  the  entire  instruction  has  intimate  regard  for 
the  geographical  background. 

German. — Archenholt's  Seven  Years'  War.  Frederick  the 
Great  (a  group  of  selected  situations  and  types),  exhibited 
through  materials  chosen  from  the  history  of  this  war, 
Schiller's  Ballads  (in  arrangements  and  groupings  as  con- 
nected  wholes). 

Latin.  —  Curtius,  Rufus.  Alexander  the  Great  (individual  per- 
sonalities of  world-wide  renown ;  geographical  and  ethno- 


196 

logical  background).  Ovid,  Metam.  Selections  (pictures 
of  inner  life  ;  psychological  motive,  cosmogony  and  age  of 
the  world). 

Greek.  —  As  in  Tertia  B,  the  preceding  class  (in  all  events  a 
glance  through  the  whole  up  to  the  arrival  in  Trebizond) . 

French.  —  Michaud  I  and  (or)  III,  Croisades  (selections). 
Further  elaboration  of  the  preceding.  Mceurs  et  Coutumes 
des  Croisades. 

Religion.  —  Synthesizing  outline.  (1st  Semester.)  General  view 
of  the  divisions  and  subdivisions  of  the  Scriptures,  the 
Church  songs  (species  and  origin),  the  important  religious 
ideas,  doctrines,  and  dogmas. 

(2d  Semester.)  The  idea  and  essence  of  God's  kingdom. 
Its  embodiment  in  the  Church  (organization  of  the  Church 
year  of  divine  service ;  extension  and  activities  of  mis- 
sions), always  with  temperate  treatment  based  upon  written 
testimony. 

8ECUNDA    B  —  SIXTH    YEAR 

Geography.  —  Not  a  subject  to  be  taught,  but  a  principle  to  be 

observed  at  every  opportunity. 
Natural  Science.  —  Physics  with  the  closest  possible  association 

with  the  geographical  conception  to  be  further  impressed 

or  newly  learned. 
History.  — See  preceding  class. 
German.  —  (1st  Semester.)    Goethe,  Hermann  und  Dorothea. 

Schiller's  Wilhelm  Tell. 

(2d  Semester.)  Schiller,  Jungfrau  von  Orleans,  and  Maria 

Stuart. 
Latin.  — Livy,  History  of  the  Kings  and  the  beginning  of  the 

Free  State  (the  development  of  a  state) . 

Cicero,  de  imperio  Cn.  Pompeii  (the  first  preparations 

for  the  monarchy),  pro  Ligario  (Caesar  dictator). 

Virgil,  ^neid.    Selection  (Fall  of  Troy). 

Greek.  —  Xenophon,  Hellenica,  chosen  selections.  The  begin- 
ning of  Athenian  power.  The  Odyssey.  Selections  for  an 

outline  of  the  whole. 


COURSE   OF  STUDY  FOR  A   GYMNASIUM        197 

French.  —  (1st  Semester.)  Jeanne  d'Arc,  by  Borante  (as  a 
preparation  for  Schiller's  drama  and  for  introduction  into 
a  significant  era  of  French.  English  history.  Wars  for 
freedom) . 

(2d  Semester.)   Maria  Stuart,  by  Lebran  (for  the  same 
reason). 

Religion.  —  (1st  Semester.)  Lessons  from  selected  historical 
portions  of  the  Old  Testament  (the  personality  of  Abraham, 
Moses,  Joshua,  the  Judges,  and  the  Kings). 

(2d  Semester.)   The  Gospel  of  Luke  in  the  original,  with 
synoptical  side  views  of  the  other  Gospels. 
N.B.  Compare  with  Secunda  A,  the  next  class. 


C.   HIGHER  EDUCATION  —  AGE  FROM  16  TO  19 

SECUNDA  A  —  SEVENTH  CLASS 

Geography.  —  Not  a  subject  to  be  taught,  but  a  principle  to  be 

observed  at  every  opportunity. 
Natural  Science.  —  (1st  Semester.)   Elements  of  Chemistry. 

(2d  Semester.)   Physics. 
History.  —  See  Tertia  A. 

German.  —  (1st  Semester.)   Niebelungen  Lied  (und  Gudrun). 
(2d    Semester.)    Heliand,   Walter  von  der  Vogelweide 

(selections — natural  feeling,  knightly  service,  Kaiser  songs, 

God's  service). 
Latin.  —  Livy.    Selections  for  an  outline  of  the  Second  Punic 

War.     Cicero,  pro  Archia,  de  Amicitia  ;   Virgil,  .^Eneid. 

(Selection,  Shield  of  ^Eneas.    Outlook  into  the  Rule  of 

Augustus.     Eclogue  IV.) 
Greek.  —  Herodotus.    Selections  to  give  an  outline  of  the  whole 

Persian  War.    Odyssey.     Selections  for  an  outline  of  the 

whole. 
French.  —  Suitable   selections    for    an   introduction    into    the 

history  of  the  French  Revolution  (Mignet)  and  of  Na- 
poleon (Thiers,  Bonaparte  en  Egypte,  etc.,  and  from  Lan- 

frey). 


198     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

Religion.  —  (1st  Semester.)   Lessons  chosen  from  poetic  and 
philosophic  portions  of  the  Old  Testament. 

(2d  Semester.)   Lessons  from  the  easier  Epistles  of  Paul. 
N.B.  As  in  Secunda  B,  careful  presentation  and  associa- 
tion of  fundamental  Biblical  and  Christian  ideas. 


PRIM  A    B — EIGHTH    TEAR 

Geography.  — None  taught.     See  preceding  class. 

Natural  Science.  —  (1st  Semester.)  Outlines  of  Mathematical 
Geography. 

(2d  Semester.)   Physics. 

History.  —  (For  this  and  last  class.)  Mediaeval  and  modern 
history.  Synthesis  of  the  important  conceptions  of  his- 
torical life.  Use  of  the  preceding  treatment,  together  with 
various  lessons  from  original  sources,  supplementing  of  the 
latter.  Constant  review  of  geographical  knowledge. 

German.  —  (1st  Semester.)  View  of  the  inner  development  of 
German  literature.  Parzival.  Klopstock's  Messias,  and 
Odes  (selections). 

(2d  Semester.)  Lessing. 

Latin.  —  (1st  Semester.)  Tacitus  Germania,  and  Selections 
from  the  Annals,  Lib.  I  and  II  (the  German  struggle 
for  liberty).  Germanicus  and  Arminius.  Horace,  Odes 
(selections). 

(2d  Semester.)   Cicero,  de  Oratore  (selections:   nature 
and  purpose  of  oratory)  ;  Horace,  Odes  (selections). 

Greek.  —  (1st  Semester.)  Thucydides.  Pictures  from  the  Si- 
cilian Expedition,  Funeral  Oration  of  Pericles,  and  as 
contrast  and  reverse,  glimpses  of  the  downfall  of  the  Hel- 
lenic world,  III,  82,  83.  Writings  of  Thucydides  con- 
cerning his  conception  of  the  end  and  purpose  of  history. 
The  Iliad. 

(2d    Semester.)     Demosthenes,    the    Iliad,    Sophocles' 
Antigone. 

French.  —  (1st  Semester.)   Montesquieu,  Considerations. 
(2d  Semester.)    Racine,  Athalie. 


COURSE   OF   STUDY  FOR  A  GYMNASIUM        199 

Religion.  —  (1st  Semester.)  Lessons  on  the  Gospel  of  John 
(the  personality  of  Christ) . 

(2d  Semester.)  Lessons  upon  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans 
(personality  of  Paul) . 

PRIMA    A — NINTH   AND    LAST   TEAR 

Geography.  —  Not  taught.    See  remark  in  Secunda  B. 
Natural  Science.  —  (1st  Semester.)   Physics. 

(2d  Semester.)  Conception  and  nature  of  the  Cosmos 
("Nature  as  a  whole  moved  and  quickened  by  an  inner 
power"). 

History.  —  See  preceding  class. 
German.  —  (1st  Semester.)   Goethe. 

(2d  Semester.)  Schiller.  Impressive  gathering  up  of  the 
important  fundamental  ideas  presented  in  the  instruction 
in  German. 

Latin.  —  (1st  Semester.)  Cicero,  pro  Sestio  (Fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire).  Tacitus,  Annals,  Selections  from  Liber  I  (Rise 
of  the  Caesar  rule.  Augustus,  Tiberius,  and  the  royal 
house).  Horace,  the  Roman  and  Kaiser  Odes. 

(2d  Semester.)  Cicero,  de  Natura  deorum,  Somnium  Scipi- 
onis,  Horace,  Ars  Poetica. 

Greek.  —  (1st  Semester.)  Plato,  Apology  and  Crito  (the  peda- 
gogical mission  of  Socrates  to  the  people),  the  Iliad. 

(2d  Semester.)    Phsedo,  the  Iliad,  Sophocles'  Ajax. 
French.  —  (1st  Semester.)   One  classical  comedy  (Moliere). 

(2d  Semester.)  Oratorical  prose  and  an  article  on  the 
history  of  literature.  Outlines  of  the  development  of  French 
literature. 

Religion.  —  (1st  Semester.)  Selections  from  Luther's  writings. 
His  Catechism. 

(2d  Semester.)  Careful  review  and  synthesis  of  matter 
already  learned,  particularly  Biblical  and  Christian  funda- 
mental conceptions. 


200     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 


EEMABKS  ON  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY 

1.  The  historical  interest  is  the  backbone  of  the 
whole    body   of    higher   education;    the   interest   in 
national  history  being  of  first,  and  that  in  ancient 
history  of  secondary,  importance.    This  being  the  case, 
it  is  natural  that  the  environment  of  the  pupil,  local, 
state,  and  national,  should  receive  the  chief  emphasis  ; 
and  that  next  to  this  the  Greek  and  Roman  culture 
should  be   emphasized.     It  is  to  the  instruction  in 
history  and  to  that  of  native  and  foreign  literature 
that  we  are  to  look  for  the  cultivation  of  this  interest. 

The  reading  matter  in  the  mother  tongue  is  de- 
pended upon  to  preserve  the  unity  of  the  course 
through  the  studies  touching  the  home  environment 
of  the  child.  Literary  selections  first  emphasize  the 
last  great  German  war  (1870-1),  and  then  go  back  to 
the  Napoleonic,  the  Seven  Years',  and  the  Thirty 
Years'  wars,  the  Reformation,  etc.,  the  object  of  the 
whole  being  that  a  clear  understanding  of  German 
manners  and  customs,  German  homes,  history,  legends, 
and  poetry,  shall  be  placed  in  the  center  of  the  whole 
realm  of  instruction.  This,  it  will  be  remembered,  is 
the  substance  of  the  demand  of  the  German  Emperor, 
when  he  said  the  schools  should  produce  young  Ger- 
mans, not  young  Greeks  and  Romans ;  yet  Dr.  Frick 
advocated  this  plan  long  before  the  Emperor  spoke. 

2.  A  thorough  sifting  of  the  material  of  instruction 
can  be  obtained  only  by  confining  it  to  that  which 
pertains  to  great  periods  and  epochs,  to  really  great 
personalities,  to  the   typical   and  characteristic,  the 


REMARKS   ON  THE   COURSE  OF   STUDY        201 

truly  classical.  Such  a  limitation  results  in  dropping 
whole  subjects  at  certain  stages ;  thus,  for  example, 
Geography  is  omitted  after  Tertia  A,  Latin  Grammar 
after  Secunda  B,  and  Greek  Grammar  after  Secunda  A. 
3.  In  addition  to  the  coordinating  influence  of  his- 
tory and  literature,  the  following  aids  to  the  same 
end  may  also  be  named :  — 

(1)  Unity  of  treatment  is  preserved  within  each 
important  subject  or  groups  of  subjects.     Thus,  for 
instance,  the  whole  of  natural  science  is  to  be  taught 
with  its  manifold  relations  clearly  in  view,  a  technical 
isolation  of  the  various  topics,  like  botany,  zoology, 
geology,  etc.,  being  avoided. 

(2)  The  natural  intimacy  existing  between  such 
subjects  as  geography  and  natural   science,  and  be- 
tween these  and  literature,  and  that  between  physics 
and  mathematics,  is  continually  brought  to  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  pupil. 

(3)  The  favoring  of  such  subjects  as  involve  at 
once  a  wide  range  of  events  and  a  broad  stretch  of 
country,   the   Odyssey,    the   Niebelungen   Lied,   the 
Seven  Years'  and  the  Thirty  Years'  wars,  for  illustra- 
tion.    Almost   every   part   of   Germany  has   a  local 
interest  in  some  phase  of  the  Thirty  Years'  war. 

(4)  The  search  for  and  the  selection  of  organic 
bodies   of    knowledge   pertaining  to   individuals,   to 
communities  and  states,  are  to  be  constant ;  so,  too, 
is  the  emphasis  of  middle  or  turning  points  in  the 
events  pertaining  to  individuals  or  communities,  to 
whole  historical  epochs  ;  or  even  to  the  development 
of  important  ideas. 

(5)  The  constant  regard  for  the  mind  and  feeling 


202  HERBART  AND   THE   HERBARTIANS 

of  the  pupil,  which  is  the  true  center  of  instruction, 
is  to  be  ever  held  in  mind.  His  apperceptive  capacity 
must  be  observed,  his  permanent  inherent  interests 
developed. 

Scores  of  prominent  German  schoolmen  and  profes- 
sors have  done  Germany  service  in  the  work  of  adapt- 
ing the  Herbartian  pedagogics  to  the  needs  and 
conditions  of  the  German  schools.  It  would  not, 
however,  add  to  the  value  of  this  exposition  to  con- 
fuse the  typical  work  of  the  leaders  already  presented 
with  a  host  of  variations.  It  must  suffice  to  mention 
in  the  appendix  the  chief  works  of  others  who  have 
become  noted  on  account  of  contributions  to  the  cause, 
whether  in  psychology,  ethics,  or  general  and  special 
theory  of  education. 


PART  III 

HERB  ART  I  AN  IDEAS  IN  AMERICA 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  HERBART  CLUB 

THIS  Club  was  organized  at  the  Saratoga  meeting  of 
the  National  Educational  Association  in  1892,  and 
consists,  for  the  most  part,  of  teachers  who  have  made 
a  special  study  of  Herbartian  principles  of  education. 
The  purpose  of  the  Club  is  to  facilitate  the  spread  of 
these  ideas,  and  to  promote  their  rational  application 
in  school  work  under  American  and  English  condi- 
tions. The  Club  has  made  a  beginning  by  the  trans- 
lation of  Lange's  Apperception,1  already  mentioned  in 
Part  II,  Chapter  VII,  and  by  the  translation  of  lifer's 
Introduction  to  the  Pedagogy  of  Herbart.2  These  works 
are  translated  by  members  of  the  Club,  and  edited  by 
the  writer  of  this  volume. 

Previous  to  the  formation  of  the  Club,  however,  the 
present  writer  issued  two  books  based  on  Herbart. 
The  first,  Essentials  of  Method,  an  analytical  treat- 
ment of  the  formal  stages  of  instruction,  was  issued 
in  1889 ;  while  the  second,  a  translation  of  Lindner's 
Empirical  Psychology,  appeared  in  1890.8 

1  Apperception,  a  monologue  on  Psychology  and  Pedagogy,  by 
Dr.  Karl  Lange.    Boston:  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  1893. 

2  Boston :  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  1894. 

3  De  Garmo's  Essentials  of  Method ;  Lindner's  Empirical  Psy- 
chology.   Boston:  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  1893. 

206 


206  HERBART  AND  THE   HERBARTIAXS 

Other  important  translations  are  as  follows :  — 

1.  Herbart's   Psychology,   by   Margaret  K.   Smith, 
Oswego,  New  York  State  Normal  School,  1891.1 

2.  Rein's  Outlines  of  Pedagogics,  by  C.  C.  and  Ida  J. 
Van  Liew,  Illinois  State  Normal  University,  1893.2 

3.  Herbart's  General  Pedagogics  and  Moral  Revela- 
tion of  the  World,  by  Henry  M.  and  Emmie  Felkin,  of 
England,  1893.3 

A  beginning  has  been  made  in  the  work  of  adapt- 
ing Herbartian  principles  to  American  conditions.  A 
course  of  illustrative  lessons  arranged  according  to  the 
Ziller  plan  of  Concentration,  prepared  by  Dr.  Frank 
McMurry  while  professor  of  pedagogy  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  Illinois,  has  already  been  presented  in  Chapter 
VI  of  Part  II. 

The  most  extensive  contribution  of  this  kind  has 
been  made  by  Dr.  Charles  A.  McMurry,  of  the  Illinois 
State  Normal  University,  at  Normal,  111.  In  1892,  he 
published  Tlie  Elements  of  General  Method*  This 
work  is  a  sympathetic  exposition  of  the  principles  of 
Herbart  as  interpreted  by  Ziller  and  Rein,  with  co- 
pious use  of  fitting  illustrations  drawn  from  Anglo- 
Saxon  history  and  experience.  In  his  discussion  of  the 
relative  value  of  studies  he  has  the  following  to  say  of 
the  fetish  of  formal  culture,  or  discipline  of  the  mind 
by  a  few  studies  like  grammar  and  arithmetic :  — 

1  International  Education  Series.    New  York :  D.  Appleton  & 
Co.,  1892. 

2  C.  W.  Bardeen  &  Co.,  Syracuse,  N.Y. ;  also  Swan  Sonnenschein 
&  Co.,  London. 

3D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  Boston;  also  Swan  Sonnenschein  &  Co., 
London. 

*  Bloomington,  Dl. :  Public  School  Publishing  Co. 


THE   HERBART  CLUB  207 

"  The  second  article  of  faith  is  a  still  stronger  one. 
The  better  class  of  energetic  teachers  would  never 
have  been  won  over  to  formal  studies  on  purely  utili- 
tarian grounds.  A  second  conviction  weighs  heavily 
on  their  minds.  '  The  discipline  of  the  mental  faculties,' 
is  a  talisman  of  unusual  potency  with  them.  They 
prize  arithmetic  and  grammar  more  for  this  than  for 
any  direct  practical  value.  The  idea  of  mental  disci- 
pline, of  training  the  faculties,  is  so  ingrained  into  all 
our  educational  thinking  that  it  crops  out  in  a  hun- 
dred ways  and  holds  our  courses  of  study  in  the 
beaten  track  of  formal  training  with  a  steadiness  that 
is  astonishing.  These  friends  believe  that  we  are  tak- 
ing the  backbone  out  of  education  by  making  it  inter- 
esting. The  culmination  of  this  educational  doctrine 
is  reached  when  it  is  said  that  the  most  valuable 
thing  learned  in  school  or  out  of  it  is  to  do  and  to 
do  vigorously  that  which  is  most  disagreeable.  The 
training  of  the  will  to  meet  difficulties  unflinchingly 
is  their  aim,  and  we  cannot  gainsay  it.  These  stal- 
wart apostles  of  educational  hardship  and  difficulty 
are  in  constant  fear  lest  we  shall  make  studies  inter- 
esting and  attractive  and  thus  undermine  the  energy 
of  the  will.  But  the  question  at  once  arises  :  Does 
not  the  will  always  act  from  motives  of  some  sort  ? 
And  is  there  any  motive  or  incentive  so  stimulating 
to  the  will  as  a  steady  and  constantly  increasing  inter- 
est in  studies.  It  is  able  to  surmount  great  difficulties. 

"We  wish  to  assure  our  stalwart  friends  that  we  still 
adhere  to  the  good  old  doctrine  that <  there  is  no  royal 
road  to  learning.'  There  is  no  way  of  putting  aside 
the  great  difficulties  that  are  found  in  every  study,  no 


208     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

way  of  grading  up  the  valleys  and  tunnelling  through 
the  hills  so  as  to  get  the  even  monotony  of  a  railroad 
track  through  the  rough  or  mountainous  parts  of  edu- 
cation. Every  child  must  meet  and  master  the  diffi- 
culties of  learning  for  himself.  There  are  no  palace 
cars  with  reclining  chairs  to  carry  him  to  the  summit 
of  real  difficulties.  The  character-developing  power 
that  lies  in  the  mastery  of  hard  tasks  constitutes  one 
of  their  chief  merits.  Accepting  this  as  a  fundamental 
truth  in  education,  the  problem  for  our  solution  is, 
how  to  stimulate  children  to  encounter  difficulties. 
Many  children  have  little  inclination  to  sacrifice  their 
ease  to  the  cause  of  learning,  and  our  dull  methods  of 
teaching  confirm  them  in  their  indifference  to  educa- 
tipnal  incentives.  Any  child,  who,  like  Hugh  Miller 
or  Abraham  Lincoln,  already  possesses  an  insatiable 
thirst  for  knowledge,  will  allow  no  difficulties  or  hard- 
ships to  stand  in  the  way  of  progress.  This  original 
appetite  and  thirst  for  knowledge  which  the  select 
few  have  often  manifested  in  childhood  is  more  valua- 
ble than  anything  the  schools  can  give.  With  the 
majority  of  children  we  can  certainly  do  nothing  bet- 
ter than  to  nurture  such  a  taste  for  knowledge  into 
vigorous  life.  It  will  not  do  to  assume  that  the  aver- 
age of  children  have  any  such  original  energy  or 
momentum  to  lead  them  to  scale  the  heights  of  even 
ordinary  knowledge."  1 

The  chapter  is  summarized  as  follows :  - 
"History  in  the  liberal  sense  surveys  the  field  of 
human  life  in  its  typical  forms  and  furnishes  the  best 
illustrative  moral  materials.     Nature  study  opens  the 
1  General  Method,  pp.  45,  46. 


THE   HERBART   CLUB  209 

door  to  the  real  world  in  all  its  beauty,  variety,  and 
law.  The  formal  studies  constitute  an  indispensable 
part  of  useful  and  disciplinary  knowledge,  but  they 
should  occupy  a  secondary  place  in  courses  of  study 
because  they  deal  with  the  form  rather  than  with  the 
content  of  the  sciences.  It  is  a  fundamental  error  to 
place  formal  studies  in  the  center  of  the  school  course 
and  to  subordinate  everything  to  their  mastery.  His- 
tory and  natural  science,  on  the  contrary,  having  the 
richest  knowledge  content,  constitute  a  natural  center 
for  all  educative  efforts.  They  make  possible  a  strong 
development  of  will-energy  because  their  interesting 
materials  furnish  strong  and  legitimate  incentives  to 
mental  activity  and  an  enlarged  field  and  opportunity 
to  voluntary  effort  in  pursuit  of  clear  and  attractive 
aims." 1 

One  of  the  most  suggestive  portions  of  the  General 
Method  is  the  part  of  the  chapter  on  "  Culture  Epochs  " 
that  discusses  the  function  of  history  in  an  American 
program  constructed  on  the  Ziller  plan.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  citation :  — 

"  The  Jewish  and  German  historical  materials,  which 
are  made  the  moral-educative  basis  of  the  common 
school  by  the  Herbartians,  can  be  of  no  service  to  us 
except  by  way  of  example.  Neither  sacred  nor  Ger- 
man history  can  form  any  important  part  of  an  Amer- 
ican course  of  study.  Religious  instruction  has  been 
delegated  to  the  Church,  and  German  history  touches 
us  indirectly,  if  at  all.  The  epochs  of  history  from 
which  American  schools  must  draw  are  chiefly  those 
of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  France,  Ger- 
1  General  Method,  pp.  47,  48. 


210     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

many,  Italy,  and  Greece  may  furnish,  some  collateral 
matter,  as  the  story  of  Tell,  of  Siegried,  of  Alaric  and 
Ulysses,  but  the  leading  epochs  must  be  those  of  our 
own  national  history. 

"  Has  the  English-speaking  race  of  North  America 
passed  through  a  series  of  historical  epochs  which, 
on  account  of  their  moral-educative  worth,  deserve  to 
stand  in  the  center  of  the  common  school  course  ?  Is 
this  history  adapted  to  cultivate  the  highest  moral 
and  intellectual  qualities  of  children  as  they  advance 
from  year  to  year  ?  There  are  few  if  any  single  na- 
tions whose  history  could  furnish  a  favorable  answer 
to  this  question.  The  English  in  America  began  their 
career  so  late  in  the  world's  history,  and  with  such  ad- 
vantages of  previous  European  culture,  that  several  of 
the  earlier  historical  epochs  are  not  represented  in  our 
country.  But  perhaps  Great  Britain  and  Europe  will 
furnish  the  earlier  links  of  a  chain  whose  later  links 
were  firmly  welded  in  America. 

"  The  history  of  our  country  since  the  first  settle- 
ments less  than  three  hundred  years  ago  is  by  far  the 
best  epitome  of  the  world's  progress  in  its  later  phases 
that  the  life  of  any  nation  presents.  On  reaching  the 
new  world  the  settlers  began  a  hand-to-hand,  tooth- 
and-nail  conflict  with  hard  conditions  of  climate,  soil, 
and  savage.  The  simple  basis  of  physical  existence 
had  to  be  fought  for  on  the  hardest  terms.  The  fact 
that  everything  had  to  be  built  up  anew  from  small 
beginnings  on  a  virgin  soil  gave  an  opportunity  to 
trace  the  rise  of  institutions  from  their  infancy  in  a 
Puritan  dwelling  or  in  a  town  meeting,  till  they  spread 
and  consolidated  over  a  continent.  In  this  short  time 


THE   HERBART   CLUB  211 

the  people  have  grown  from  little  scattered  settlements 
to  a  nation,  have  experienced  an  undreamed-of  mate- 
rial expansion,  have  passed  through  a  rapid  succession 
of  great  political  struggles,  and  have  had  an  unrivalled 
evolution  of  agriculture,  commerce,  manufactures,  in- 
ventions, education,  and  social  life.  All  the  elements 
of  society,  material,  religious,  political,  and  social,  have 
started  with  the  day  of  small  things  and  have  grown 
up  together. 

"  There  is  little  in  our  history  to  appeal  to  children 
below  the  fourth  grade,  that  is,  below  ten  years ;  but 
from  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  grade  American 
history  is  rich  in  moral-educative  materials  of  the  best 
quality  and  suited  to  children.  We  are  able  to  distin- 
guish four  principal  epochs  :  1.  The  age  of  pioneers, 
the  ocean  navigators  like  Columbus,  Drake,  and  Magel- 
lan, and  the  explorers  of  the  continent  like  Smith, 
Champlain,  La  Salle,  and  Fremont.  2.  The  period  of 
settlements,  of  colonial  history,  and  of  French  and 
Indian  wars.  3.  The  Revolution  and  life  under  the 
Articles  of  Confederation  till  the  adoption  of  the  Con- 
stitution. 4.  Self-government  under  the  Union  and 
the  growth  and  strengthening  of  the  federal  idea. 
While  drawing  largely  upon  general  history  for  a  full 
and  detailed  treatment  of  a  few  important  topics  in 
each  of  these  epochs  we  should  make  a  still  more 
abundant  use  of  the  biographical  and  literary  materials 
furnished  by  each.  The  concentration  of  school  stud- 
ies, with  a  historical  series  suggested  by  the  culture 
epochs  as  a  basis,  would  utilize  our  American  history, 
biography,  and  literature  in  a  manner  scarcely  dreamed 
of  heretofore. 


212     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

"  We  shall  attempt  to  illustrate  briefly  this  concen- 
tration of  studies  about  materials  selected  from  one 
of  the  culture  epochs.  Take,  for  example,  the  age  of 
pioneers  from  which  to  select  historical  subject-matter 
for  children  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  grades.  It  com- 
prehends the  biographies  of  eminent  navigators  and 
explorers,  pioneers  on  land  and  sea.  It  describes  the 
important  undertakings  of  Columbus,  Magellan,  Cabot, 
Kaleigh,  Drake,  and  others,  who  were  daring  leaders 
at  the  great  period  of  maritime  discovery.  The  pio- 
neer explorers  of  New  England  and  the  other  colonies 
bring  out  strongly  marked  characters  in  the  prepara- 
tory stage  of  our  earliest  history.  Smith,  Champlain, 
Winthrop,  Penn,  Oglethorpe,  Stuyvesant,  and  Wash- 
ington are  examples.  In  the  Mississippi  Valley  De 
Soto,  La  Salle,  Boone,  Lincoln,  and  Robertson  are 
types.  Still  farther  west  Lewis,  and  Clarke,  and  the 
pioneers  of  California,  complete  this  historical  epoch 
in  a  series  of  great  enterprises. 

"Most  of  them  are  pioneers  in  new  regions  beset  with 
dangers  of  wild  beasts,  savages,  and  sickness.  A  few 
are  settlers,  the  first  to  build  cabins  and  take  posses- 
sion of  the  land  that  was  still  claimed  by  red  men 
and  still  covered  with  forests.  The  men  named  were 
leaders  of  small  bands  sent  out  to  explore  rivers  and 
forests,  or  to  drive  out  hostile  claimants  at  the  point 
of  the  sword.  Any  one  who  has  tried  the  effect  of 
these  stories  upon  children  of  the  fourth  grade  will 
grant  that  they  touch  deep  native  interest.  But  this 
must  be  a  genuine  and  permanent  interest  to  be  of 
educative  value.  The  moral  quality  in  this  interest 
is  its  virtue.  Standish,  Boone,  La  Salle,  and  the  rest 


THE    HERB  ART   CLUB  213 

were  stalwart  men  whose  courage  was  keenly  and 
powerfully  tempered.  They  were  leaders  of  men  by 
virtue  of  moral  strength  and  superiority.  Their  deeds 
have  the  stamp  of  heroism,  and  in  approving  them  the 
moral  judgments  of  children  are  exercised  upon  known 
material.  These  men  and  stories  constitute  an  epoch 
in  civilization  because  they  represent  that  state  which 
just  precedes  the  first  form  of  settled  society.  In  fact 
some  of  the  stories  fall  in  the  transition  stage,  where 
men  followed  the  plough  and  wielded  the  woodman's 
axe,  or  turned  to  the  warpath  as  occasion  required. 
In  every  part  of  the  United  States  there  has  been  such 
a  period  and  something  corresponding  to  it  in  other 
countries.  We  are  prepared  to  assume,  therefore,  that 
these  historical  materials  arouse  a  strong  interest, 
implant  moral  ideas,  and  illustrate  a  typical  epoch. 
These  are  also  very  real.  These  men,  especially 
the  land  pioneers,  were  our  own  predecessors,  trav- 
ersing the  same  rivers,  forests,  and  prairies  where  we 
now  live  and  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  hardihood  and 
labor." l 

Following  the  outline  of  his  historical  material  is  a 
general  scheme  of  concentration  for  remaining  branches. 
Dr.  McMurry  has  exemplified  his  theories  by  com- 
piling two  volumes  of  pioneer  history  stories,  and  pre- 
paring the  first  two  numbers  of  a  series  of  monographs 
on  Special  Methods.2  His  monograph  on  Geography 
is  noteworthy  from  the  fact  of  its  full  recognition 

1  General  Method,  pp.  95-98. 

2  Special  Methods,  (1)  History  and  Literature,  (2)  Geography, 
also  Pioneer  Stories,  Public  School  Publishing  Co.,  Bloomington, 
111. 


214     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

of  the  value  of  commercial  geography  in  elementary 
education. 

A  bibliography  at  the  close  of  this  volume  gives  in 
detail  most  of  the  contributions  that  have  thus  far 
been  made  in  the  effort  to  adapt  Herbartian  ideas  to 
American  conditions. 


CHAPTEE  II 
THREE  PLANS  FOR  THE  CORRELATION  OF  STUDIES 

THAT  the  rational  articulation  of  studies  is  a  press- 
ing problem  in  American  education  cannot  be  doubted. 
It  is  a  consummation  everywhere  demanded  but  no- 
where achieved  by  the  celebrated  Report  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ten  on  Secondary  Education.1  Why  there  is 
no  coordination  in  this  Report  it  is  not  difficult  to  see. 
Nine  independent  bodies  of  specialists  meeting  in 
different  places  and  having  no  correspondence  could 
not  be  expected  to  produce  a  course  of  study  in  which 
the  various  branches  should  be  organically  connected. 
Dr.  Frick  and  his  hundred  or  more  associates  upon 
Lehrproben  und  Lehrgdnge  worked  upon  the  special 
branches  for  eight  years  before  they  ventured  to  offer 
an  organic  course  of  study.  The  problems  arising 
from  the  attempt  at  rational  articulation  being  so 
difficult,  it  would  be  a  cause  of  astonishment,  had 
these  independent  conferences  been  able  by  intuition 
to  do  at  a  stroke  what  can  only  be  effected  by  much 
reflection  and  experiment.  The  central  committee  did 
not  attempt  to  modify  the  reports  of  the  specialists 

1  This  Report,  made  to  the  National  Council  of  Education  in 
1894,  is  published  by  the  Bureau  of  Education,  Washington,  D.C. 
215 


216     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

except  to  the  extent  of  diminishing  the  time  demanded, 
so  that  a  workable  program  might  be  obtained.  But 
though  the  final  work  of  coordination  remains  a  pious 
wish  so  far  as  the  Report  is  concerned,  it  must  not  be 
inferred  that  the  conferences  have  made  no  progress 
in  this  direction.  There  has  been  an  honest  attempt 
to  fix  upon  a  rational  selection  and  sequence  of  topics 
for  each  important  study  or  group  of  studies.  And  it 
may  easily  be  conceded  that  a  rational  unity  of  treat- 
ment for  each  branch  is  preferable  to  a  crude,  one- 
sided, or  visionary  concentration  of  all  subjects. 
Furthermore,  each  important  group  of  related  sub- 
jects is  justified  in  presenting  its  claim  for  its  own 
principle  of  sequence,  unless,  indeed,  according  to 
Ziller,  we  grant  that  some  subjects  are  so  important 
that  they  form  a  Procrustean  bed  to  which  all  others 
with  conflicting  principles  of  development  must  be 
fitted.  If  this  claim  is  not  admitted,  it  follows  that 
most  important  progress  has  already  been  made 
toward  the  coordination  of  the  studies  of  Secondary 
Schools. 

That  the  importance  of  coordination  is  seen  also  in 
the  department  of  Elementary  Education  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  following  questions  put  to  hundreds 
of  leading  superintendents  and  teachers  by  the  Com- 
mittee of  Fifteen  from  the  Department  of  Superin- 
tendence of  the  National  Educational  Association  :  — 


CORRELATION  or  STUDIES 

1.   Should  the  elementary  course  be  eight  years,  and 
the  secondary  course  four  years,  as  at  present  ?     Or, 


COERELATION  OF   STUDIES  217 

should  the  elementary  course  be  six  years  and  the 
secondary  course  six  years  ? 

2.  Has  each  of  the  grammar  school  studies  —  lan- 
guage (including  reading,  spelling,  grammar,  composi- 
tion), mathematics  (arithmetic,  algebra,  plane  geom- 
etry),  geography,    history,  natural   science    (botany, 
zoology,  mineralogy),  penmanship,  drawing,   etc.,  a 
distinct  pedagogical  value  ?    If  so,  what  is  it  ? 

3.  Should  other  subjects  than  those  enumerated  in 
the  second  question,  such  as  manual  training  (including 
sloyd,  sewing,  and  cooking),  physical  culture,  physics, 
music,  physiology  (including  the  effects  of  stimulants 
and  narcotics),  Latin,  or  a  modern  language,  be  taught 
in  the  elementary  school  course  ?     If  so,  why  ? 

4.  Should  the  sequence  of  topics  be  determined  by 
the  logical   development   of  the  subject,  or  by  the 
child's  power  to  apperceive  new  ideas  ?     Or,  to  any 
extent  by  the  evolutionary  steps  manifested  by  the 
race  ?     If  so,  by  the  evolution  of  the  race  to  which 
the  child  belongs,  or  that  of  the  human  race  ? 

5.  What  should  be  the  purpose  of  attempting  a 
close  correlation  of  studies  ? 

(a)  To  prevent  duplication,  eliminate  non-essen- 
tials, and  save  time  and  effort  ? 

(6)  To  develop  the  apperceiving  power  of  the 
mind? 

(c)  To  develop  character  ?  A  purely  ethical  pur- 
pose ? 

6.  Is  it  possible  on  any  basis  to  correlate  or  unify 
all  the  studies  of  the  elementary  school  ? 

7.  If  not,  may  they  be  divided  into  two  or  more 
groups,  those  of  each  group  being  correlated  ? 


218     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

8.  Is  there  any  way  of  correlating  the  results  of 
work  in  all  the  groups  ? 

9.  What  should  be  the  length  of  recitation  periods 
in  each  year  of  the  elementary  school  course  ?    What 
considerations  should  determine  the  length  ? 

10.  In  what  year  of  the  course  should  each  of  the 
subjects  mentioned  in  questions  2  and  3  be  introduced, 
if  introduced  at  all  ? 

11.  In  making  a  program,  should  time  be  assigned 
for  each  subject,  or  only  for  the  groups  of  subjects 
suggested  in  question  7  ? 

12.  How  many  hours  a  week  for  how  many  years 
should  be  devoted  to  each  subject,  or  each  group  of 
subjects  ? 

13.  What  topics  may  be  covered  in  each  subject,  or 
each  group  of  subjects  ? 

14.  Should  any  subject,  or  group  of  subjects,  be 
treated  differently  for  pupils  who  leave  school  at  12, 
13,  or  14  years  of  age,  and  for  those  who  are  going 
to  a  high  school  ? 

15.  Can  any  description  be  given  of  the  best  method 
of  teaching  each  subject,  or  group  of  subjects,  through- 
out the  school  course  ? 

16.  What  considerations  should  determine  the  point 
at  which  the  specialization  of  the  work  of  teachers 
should  begin  ? 

17.  On  what  principle   should  the  promotion  of 
pupils   from   grade   to  grade  be  determined?     Who 
should  make  the  determination  ? 

Not  only  do  we  have  these  indications  of  the  drift  of 
thought  in  the  National  Educational  Association,  but 
we  have  Col.  F.  W.  Parker's  inspiring  volume  of  491 


CORRELATION  OF  STUDIES  219 

pages  on  the  Theory  of  Concentration^ — perhaps  the 
most  thoroughgoing  and  extensive  work  ever  written 
upon  this  subject.  Although  Colonel  Parker  makes 
no  claim  of  being  a  Herbartian,  his  theory  of  concentra- 
tion reminds  us  strongly  of  Zillers  in  its  purpose  of 
unifying  all  knowledge.  The  principle  on  which  this 
is  to  be  effected,  however,  is  totally  different  from 
Ziller's.  Like  the  Herbartians,  he  takes  the  strongest 
grounds  against  the  idea  of  formal  discipline,  especially 
when  sought  through  form  studies  alone,  such  as  lan- 
guage, grammar,  and  mathematics.  Actual,  concrete 
knowledge  of  the  same  sort  that  has  constituted  the 
ante-school  experience  of  the  child,  shall  be  the  mate- 
rial through  which  all  form  is  to  be  taught.  In  the 
center  stands  the  child  surrounded  by  energy  working 
through  matter.  This  matter  is  studied  under  the  fol- 
lowing heads :  mineralogy,  geology,  geography,  as- 
tronomy, meteorology,  botany,  zoology,  anthropology, 
ethnology,  history.  This  is  a  hierarchy  of  sciences, 
and  each  is  to  be  taught  in  its  relations  to  its  fellows. 
Universal  law  is  to  be  the  principle  of  unification  of 
knowledge  in  the  mind  of  the  child.  Next,  we  have 
the  modes  of  attention  called  observing,  reading,  hear- 
ing-language. Then  come  the  modes  of  expression 
called  gesture,  writing,  speech,  drawing,  painting, 
modelling,  making,  music.  Lastly,  we  have  the  modes 
of  Judgment  —  called  form  and  number.  Through 
the  expression  of  concrete  related  knowledge  (chiefly 
of  the  natural  world,  it  would  seem)  we  are  to  develop 
all  needed  skill  in  the  use  of  forms.  Formal  studies 
as  such  should  not  be  taught,  for  this  is  an  inversion 
i  New  York:  E.  L.  KeUogg  &  Co.,  1894. 


220     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

of  nature  and  a  perversion  of  every  sound  educational 
theory.  No  group  of  subjects  such  as  history  and 
literature  on  the  one  hand,  or  natural  science  on  the 
other,  is  to  form  the  core  about  which  the  other  sub- 
jects shall  be  concentrated  and  to  whose  principle  of 
development  the  others  shall  be  subordinated;  but 
every  subject  shall  have  equal  validity  with  every 
other,  except  that  thought  shall  precede  expression, 
the  principle  of  unification  or  concentration  being  the 
rational,  philosophical  relation  that  exists  by  nature 
among  the  various  departments  of  human  knowledge. 
The  following  citation  from  pp.  27-8  illustrates  this 
natural  coordination :  "  The  first  definition  of  geogra- 
phy that  I  give  is  this :  Geography  is  the  knowledge  or 
science  of  the  present  appearance  of  the  earth's  surface. 
This  definition  premises  that  there  have  been  count- 
less other  appearances  in  past  aeons,  that  constant 
changes  have  been  going  on  in  the  crust  of  the  earth, 
and  that  changes  will  be  continuously  made  in  the 
future.  The  present  appearance  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face is  the  result,  or  present  effect,  of  countless  changes 
in  the  earth's  crust.  Geologists  teach  us  that  the 
earth's  creation  is  going  on  to-day  in  precisely  the 
same  way  and  by  the  same  causes  as  it  has  been  going 
on  for  countless  ages.  To  know  geography  is  to 
know  the  present  appearance  of  the  earth's  surface. 
This  definition  gives  geography  a  place  as  a  branch  of 
study  and  shows  its  relation  to  other  studies.  Any 
definition  more  comprehensive  than  this  would  include 
other  subjects.  Thus  the  study  of  the  surface  of  the 
earth  is  a  study  by  itself,  excluding  by  its  definition 
all  other  branches." 


CORRELATION  OF  STUDIES  221 

Concentration  based  on  the  philosophic  unity  of  all 
knowledge  is  a  distinctly  American  contribution  to 
the  theory  of  education.  Some  of  its  limitations  will 
soon  be  pointed  out. 

We  have  before  us  two  general  plans  of  CONCEN- 
TRATION, Ziller's  and  Colonel  Parker's,  and  one  for 
coordination,  that  offered  by  Dr.  Frick.  Granting  to 
each  of  the  theories  of  concentration  its  strong  points, 
it  is  still  obvious  that  both  have  serious  limitations, 
some  of  which  may  be  mentioned :  — 

1.  Ziller's  scheme  of  concentration  assumes,  in  the 
first  place,  that  the  past  is  always  simpler,  hence  more 
interesting,  to  the  child  than  the  present,  and  that 
consequently  the  culture  epochs  are  the  invariable 
guide  to  sequence  in  the  culture  subjects.  This  as- 
sumption, notwithstanding  the  unquestioned  advantage 
presented  by  a  historical  sequence,  can  hardly  be  suc- 
cessfully maintained  as  an  invariable  principle.  To 
begin  with,  only  the  finest  historians  are  able  to  make 
such  a  picture  of  past  conditions  of  life  that  the  child 
can  have  any  adequate  understanding  of  the  events 
narrated  in  history.  Pioneer  life,  in  spite  of  its  seem- 
ing simplicity,  may  be  really  complex  to  the  young 
because  of  its  poverty  of  the  means  now  surrounding 
every  child.  Think  of  the  devices  and  roundabout 
methods  that  had  to  be  resorted  to  because  of  the 
limitations  of  the  people  in  the  means  for  transporta- 
tion; for  obtaining  and  cooking  food;  for  erecting, 
heating,  and  lighting  houses ;  for  manufacturing 
clothing;  for  obtaining  books,  papers,  magazines, 
works  of  art,  and  other  means  of  culture.  To  por- 
tray the  conditions  under  which  ancient  or  for- 


222     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

eign   peoples   wrought  is   a  correspondingly  difficult 
task. 

Again,  it  may  be  that  the  elements  for  the  explana- 
tion of  even  complicated  social  or  material  relations 
lie  in  the  environment  of  the  child,  so  that  there  is 
no  need  to  go  to  the  developments  of  history  for  an 
explanation.  Suppose  one  wished  to  make  a  ten-year- 
old  boy  understand  something  of  a  self-binding  har- 
vester. One  might  indeed  go  back  to  the  Book  of 
Ruth  for  a  lesson  on  the  use  of  the  hand-sickle,  and 
then  show  the  development  into  the  scythe,  then  into 
the  cradle,  then  the  back  and  forth  movement  of  the 
McCormick  sickle,  then  the  self-raker,  the  Marsh  Har- 
vester on  which  the  binders  rode,  and  finally  the  self- 
binder  itself.  But  though  this  tracing  of  the  historical 
evolution  would  be  interesting  and  under  some  cir- 
cumstances very  valuable,  it  is  not  necessary  to  an 
understanding  of  the  machine  in  question.  Hand- 
sickles,  scythes,  and  rakes  are  used  for  some  purposes 
to-day.  In  fifteen  minutes  an  instructor  could  illus- 
trate the  whole  process  with  the  elements  at  hand  — 
the  cutting  of  the  grain,  the  use  of  the  reel  in  place 
of  the  hand  for  holding  the  grain  to  be  cut,  the  plat- 
form for  carrying  and  elevating  the  grain  instead  of 
the  old  process  of  gathering  into  bundles,  the  binding 
by  means  of  a  steel  arm  and  a  twine,  instead  of  the 
old  method  of  binding  with  straw  by  hand,  and  finally 
the  grouping  of  bundles  into  winrows  for  shocking. 
The  elements  necessary  for  explanation  are  right  at 
hand,  and  for  clearness  need  no  excursion  into  his- 
torical epochs.  In  the  same  way,  the  elements  for 
the  proper  comprehension  of  legal,  social,  governmental, 


CORRELATION   OF   STUDIES  223 

and  economic  organizations  may  all  lie  in  the  environ- 
ment of  the  child,  making  it  quite  unnecessary  to  trace 
their  development  from  antiquity  through  the  various 
culture  stages  of  the  race.  Why,  for  illustration,  can- 
not the  modern  German  boy  with  his  knowledge  of 
railroads,  steamboats,  and  bridges ;  of  gunpowder,  can- 
non, and  breech-loading  rifles,  understand  the  last  war 
with  France,  as  well  as  the  guerilla  warfare  waged 
with  antiquated  weapons  by  his  savage  ancestors 
against  the  legions  of  Rome  ?  Is  not  the  progress 
through  the  culture  epoch  of  more  value  as  a  stimulant 
to  the  imagination,  as  a  means  for  touching  the  fancy, 
for  enriching  the  social  life,  and  for  broadening  the 
sympathies  than  it  is  as  a  necessary  means  for  under- 
standing? If  this  is  the  truth,  then  we  must  grant 
to  the  environment  of  the  child  as  great  a  value  for 
apperception  as  is  contained  in  progress  through  culture 
epochs,  even  for  culture  subjects. 

The  second  limitation  to  which  Ziller's  plan  is  sub- 
jected, is  that  it  is  a  scheme  for  SUBORDINATION  for  most 
branches,  and  not  one  of  COORDINATION.  Non-culture 
subjects,  like  the  natural  sciences,  are  compelled  to 
accept  a  principle  of  development  not  their  own,  pro- 
vided they  are  so  fortunate  as  to  be  granted  any  at  all. 
It  is  to  incidental  suggestions  arising  from  history 
and  literature  that  the  nature-subjects  owe  their  ap- 
pearance at  any  given  point  upon  the  program.  It 
might  perhaps  be  granted  that,  in  the  first  years  of 
school  life,  when  scientific  sequence  is  a  matter  of 
small  moment,  such  a  method  for  selecting  nature- 
topics  is  open  to  the  least  objection.  But  if  the  study 
of  nature  is  to  be  seriously  undertaken,  it  seems  in- 


224     HERBAKT  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

evitable  that,  just  as  it  has  developed  for  itself  the 
laboratory  method  of  verification  and  inductive  obser- 
vation, releasing  itself  from  the  shackles  of  literary 
treatment,  so  too  it  must  be  granted  a  correlated 
sequence  arising  from  its  own  constitution,  not  from 
that  of  subjects  naturally  alien  to  it. 

2.  Fascinating  as  Colonel  Parker's  scheme  of  con- 
centration may  appear  at  first  sight,  it  involves  two 
chief  difficulties,  one  physical  and  the  other  psychical, 
together  with  any  number  of  undesirable  tendencies. 
The  two  great  difficulties  involved  arise  from  the  fact 
that  to  make  the  philosophical  unity  of  knowledge 
the  principle,  of  concentration  it  is  necessary  to  have 
an  adult  philosopher  to  teach  and  an  infant  philoso- 
pher to  learn.  It  is  a  physical  (and  economic)  impos- 
sibility to  prepare  two  hundred  thousand  philosophers, 
more  or  less,  to  do  the  teaching ;  and  it  is  a  psychical 
impossibility  to  produce  any  infant  philosophers  to  do 
the  learning.  Simple  associations  of  facts  children 
can  make,  but  they  can  see  no  far-reaching  unifying 
principles.  To  make  them  appear  to  do  so  leads  to 
worse  formalism  than  any  we  seek  to  avoid. 

Among  the  undesirable  tendencies  of  this  plan  the 
following  may  be  mentioned :  — 

(1)  There  seems  an  undue  emphasis  upon  the  mate- 
rial facts  of  knowledge,  and  a  corresponding  neglect  of 
the  culture  side.  The  topics  in  which  inherent  thought 
is  to  be  developed  are  mineralogy,  geology,  geography, 
astronomy,  meteorology,  biology,  zoology,  anthropology, 
and  history.  How  different  from  this  is  Ziller's  em- 
phasis of  the  culture  subjects  history,  literature,  and 
religion,  which  in  his  view  are  so  important  for  the 


CORRELATION  OF  STUDIES  225 

spiritual  and  moral  development  of  man  that  they  are 
worthy  to  be  the  core  of  study  to  which  all  form  and 
nature  study  should  be  subordinated.  The  savage, 
even,  learns  much  of  nature,  but  his  savageiy  exists 
because  he  knows  so  little  of  man  and  his  institutions. 
The  history  of  the  world  indicates  that  civilization  has 
been  possible  without  natural  science,  but  that  it  can- 
not exist  without  culture  knowledge.  Were  we  forced, 
therefore,  to  abandon  either  in  elementary  education, 
we  should  keep  the  culture  and  let  the  science  go. 
For  this  reason  a  scheme  of  concentration  that  appears 
to  lay  such  heavy  stress  upon  the  facts  of  the  material 
world  is  open  to  serious  objection. 

(2)  Another  practical  difficulty  at  once  arises  when 
the  attempt  is  made  to  teach  all  modes  of  expression, 
such  as  writing,  speech,  drawing,  painting,  modelling, 
and  making,  incidentally,  as  the  natural  method  of  ex- 
pressing the  inherent  thought  gained  in  the  knowledge 
subjects.    Such  modes  of  expression  as  arise  naturally 
and  inevitably  in  expressing  thought  may  perhaps  be 
left  to  incidental  care,  but  those  that  occasion  great 
mechanical  and  mental  difficulties,  like  writing,  draw- 
ing, spelling,  etc.,  are  in  most  cases  likely  to  be  neg- 
lected if   taught  incidentally.     In  the  long  run  and 
with  the   majority   of    teachers,  what    is    incidental 
comes  to  be  regarded  as  unimportant,  and  suffers  a 
corresponding  neglect. 

(3)  A  philosophical  unity  of  knowledge  as  a  basis 
for  concentration  leads  inevitably  to  an  emphasis  of 
the  LOGICAL  at  the  expense  of  the  PSYCHOLOGICAL 
principle  of  sequence.     It  is  only  after  the  separate 
sciences  are  well  developed  individually  that  their 


226     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

philosophical  interrelations  are  clearly  perceived.  In 
making  these  late-seen  interrelations  the  basis  of  con- 
centration, the  natural  tendency  would  be  to  make 
the  various  sciences  take  the  direction  and  sequence 
of  topics  indicated  by  their  development  as  logically 
completed  wholes.  The  apperception  of  the  child  is 
not  scientific,  however,  but  depends  upon  the  limits 
and  tendencies  fixed  by  environment,  experience,  and 
childish  tastes  and  fancies.  The  sequence  of  topics 
in  knowledge  must,  therefore,  be  psychological  before 
it  is  logical. 

The  only  scheme  of  true  coordination  of  studies 
furnished  by  the  followers  of  Herbart  is  that  offered 
by  Dr.  Frick.  Its  chief  features  are  (1)  that  it  places 
the  present  environment  of  the  child  at  least  on  a  par 
with  the  culture  epochs  as  a  guide  to  the  selection  and 
arrangement  even  of  culture-studies ;  (2)  that  it  allows 
the  nature-studies  to  have  their  own  principle  of 
development  so  far  as  selection  and  sequence  are 
concerned ;  (3)  that  it  provides  for  the  greatest  pos- 
sible unity  in  each  important  subject;  (4)  that  it 
takes  advantage  of  natural  and  simple  relations  exist- 
ing among  the  studies,  so  arranging  and  presenting 
the  various  topics  that  these  relations  may  appeal  with 
full  force  to  the  child.  In  short,  his  plan  is  to  depend 
upon  simple  associations  among  the  ideas  presented 
by  instruction,  leaving  until  the  later  stages  of  educa- 
tion all  attempts  to  bring  to  view  that  unification  of 
knowledge  which  comes  through  a  grasp  of  under- 
lying philosophical  principles. 

Like  other  Herbartians,  Dr.  Frick  divides  studies 


CORRELATION  OF  STUDIES  227 

into  two  groups  —  CULTURE-  and  NATURE-studies, 
each  group  having  both  form  and  content  branches. 
Languages  are,  in  general,  the  form  side  of  culture- 
subjects,  and  mathematics  the  form  side  of  nature- 
studies. 

This  classification  has  for  the  past  half  century  been 
a  good  one,  but  a  new  spirit  is  coming  into  our  civiliza- 
tion, which  even  if  not  yet  recognized  by  the  teacher 
will,  however,  soon  force  a  recognition.  Education  has, 
in  its  elements,  at  least,  now  become  universal,  and 
the  conditions  of  life  for  the  masses  are  rapidly  chang- 
ing. We  cannot  multiply  populations  indefinitely 
without  at  the  same  time  abandoning  whole  groups  of 
old  ideals  in  every  important  field  of  activity,  educa- 
tion included. 

Before  the  final  chapter  of  this  book  can  be  written, 
setting  forth  the  author's  conception  of  a  practicable 
principle  of  coordination  of  studies  for  English-speak- 
ing peoples,  there  must  be  an  exposition  of  the  new 
ideals  that  should  follow  from  the  new  conditions  of 
life.  This  exposition  it  is  the  business  of  the  next 
chapter  to  set  forth. 


CHAPTER   III 
A  NEW  ERA  IN  EDUCATION 

NOTHING  is  older  than  hostility  to  new  ideas. 
When,  in  important  aspects  of  life,  they  have  tended 
to  dominate  large  numbers  of  men,  their  christening 
has  not  unfrequently  been  a  baptism  of  blood.  This 
has  been  the  history  of  religious  and  governmental 
changes. 

Every  significant  proposition  to  abandon  the  beaten 
path  of  the  fathers  in  whatever  realm  of  thought  is 
sharply  challenged  by  many  people  both  as  to  purpose 
and  method.  Not  only  is  this  true  in  Church  and 
state,  but  it  is  equally  true  in  education,  which  is  at 
once  a  cause  and  a  result  of  both. 

To  a  large  extent  educational  ideals  arise  from  the 
conditions  under  which  men  worship  their  Creator, 
provide  their  food,  and  secure  their  civil  liberty.  But 
these  conditions  constantly  change,  sometimes  rapidly, 
sometimes  slowly,  whereas  our  ideas  of  education  are 
periodic,  rather  than  constant  in  their  corresponding 
advance.  Our  imaginations  become  completely  ad- 
justed to  one  set  of  conditions,  so  that  we  find  it  diffi- 
cult if  not  impossible  to  readjust  them  to  a  new  order 
228 


A  NEW   ERA   IN   EDUCATION  229 

of  things.  How  slowly  and  reluctantly,  for  instance, 
have  we  reconstructed  our  religious  imaginations  to 
meet  the  truths  revealed  by  the  new  astronomy,  the 
science  of  geology,  and  the  demonstrated  portions  of 
the  theory  of  evolution  !  For  1350  years  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Christian  religion  had  been  side  by  side 
with  the  Ptolemaic  theory  of  astronomy,  in  which 
the  earth  was  the  stationary  center  around  which 
revolved  sun,  planets,  and  stars.  What  more  natural 
than  that  Heaven  should  be  above,  and  Hell  below  ? 
But  if  the  sun  is  to  be  the  center,  the  image  con- 
structed by  the  imagination  is  distorted  if  not  de- 
stroyed. Our  youthful  minds  become  adjusted  to  the 
literal  Mosaic  account  of  creation,  but  the  imagination 
will  not  accord  with  the  science  of  geology  as  we 
know  it  to-day.  Our  early  conceptions  of  primeval 
life  come  into  conflict  with  the  idea  of  an  orderly 
evolution.  Slowly,  reluctantly,  and  sometimes  only 
in  our  children  do  we  revise  these  old  constructions 
of  an  active  imagination  to  make  them  conform  to 
demonstrated  laws. 

Belated  ideals  are  more  to  be  expected  in  education 
than  in  government  and  religion,  for  the  antithesis  be- 
tween inherited  educational  conceptions  and  the  new 
conditions  under  which  men  must  work  are  not  so 
sharply  accented  here  as  elsewhere.  Men  have  ample 
freedom  to  follow  their  notions  in  the  higher  educa- 
tion of  their  children,  so  that  they  do  not  feel  called 
upon  to  defend  their  educational  faith  as  they  do  their 
faith  in  civil  and  church  affairs.  For  this  reason  it 
often  comes  to  pass  that  those  who  should  be  the 
leaders,  become  the  retarders  of  educational  thought, 


230     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

leaving  the  direction  of  it  to  practical  men  of  the 
world,  whose  lives  are  in  close  touch  with  the  economic 
activities  of  the  present,  and  whose  minds  are  not 
arrested  by  ideals  that  were  the  products  of  an  older 
state  of  civilization. 

Plato  and  Aristotle  sought  to  get  to  the  heart  of  the 
material  world,  to  find  the  stuff  of  which  things  are 
made  and  the  primal  forces  that  produce  them.  Build- 
ing upon  the  foundations  laid  by  Aristotle,  Thomas 
Aquinas  and  Duns  Scotus  sought  to  demonstrate  to 
the  understanding  the  truths  of  revelation,  that  is, 
to  rationalize  the  Christian  creed.  Descartes  and 
Kant  have  changed  the  basis,  and  instead  of  founding 
philosophy  upon  the  lowly  earth,  or  suspending  it 
from  the  vaulted  sky,  they  rest  it  upon  the  funda- 
mental truths  of  human  consciousness.  The  stand- 
point of  philosophy  has  thus  shifted  from  material 
to  miracle  and  from  miracle  to  mind,  each  stage 
summing  up  and  including  all  that  had  gone  before. 
Closely  analogous  to  this  movement  has  been  that  of 
education.  The  oldest  yet  perhaps  the  most  common 
ideal  of  higher  education  to-day  is  that  liberal  train- 
ing of  the  mind  consists  chiefly  of  ancient  languages 
and  mathematics.  The  entrance  requirements  of  our 
colleges  are  mostly  adjusted  to  this  idea. 

Vast  indeed  is  the  debt  that  civilization  owes  to 
these  incomparable  instruments  of  education.  Once 
they  were  wholly  adequate  to  the  educational  needs 
of  the  world.  But  should  we  forget  that  since  the 
days  when  the  classics  obtained  their  ascendancy  the 
world  has  become  democratic,  that  higher  education 
from  being  the  privilege  of  a  small  class  has  become 


A  NEW   ERA  IN  EDUCATION  231 

a  necessity  for  the  leaders  of  all  classes  ?  Shall  we 
ignore  the  fact  that  at  that  time  the  mother-tongue  of 
most  countries  was.  the  vehicle  of  little  or  no  learn- 
ing ?  It  was  near  the  middle  of  the  last  century  be- 
fore Wolff  first  taught  philosophy  to  speak  German. 
Previous  to  that  time  Latin  was  the  almost  universal 
language  of  learned  works.  The  rise  and  growth  of 
science  is  almost  within  the  memory  of  men  now 
living,  while  the  wonderful  development  of  industrial 
enterprise,  with  its  concentration  of  capital  and  or- 
ganization of  labor,  is  confined  almost  to  the  present 
century.  In  short,  the  classics  took  their  rise  when 
they  were  the  only  receptacles  of  knowledge,  when  no 
natural  science  existed,  when  industry  was  undevel- 
oped, when  education  was  the  prerogative  of  priests 
and  literati,  and  when  the  surging  masses  had  not 
yet  risen  to  assert  for  themselves  the  rights  of  man. 
Under  these  circumstances  it  is  not  strange  that  the 
imagination  of  the  scholar  should  have  constructed  a 
picture  of  classical  education  in  colors  so  bright  that 
they  still  endure. 

Mathematics  won  its  prominent  place  in  our  cur- 
riculum largely  through  the  brilliant  results  obtained 
by  Newton  and  his  contemporaries.  To  it  chiefly  we 
owe  our  modern  scientific  development.  The  latter 
half  of  our  own  century  has  seen  the  rise  and  per- 
fection of  the  natural  sciences  as  instruments  of  edu- 
cation. Taught  at  first  by  literary  methods,  they 
made  but  little  impression,  but  during  the  last  twenty- 
five  years  they  have  developed  a  method  of  their  own 
—  that  of  inductive  research  and  verification  in  the 
laboratory.  So  vast  have  been  the  conquests  of 


232     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

science  in  our  own  times  that  a  large  part  of  our 
educators  have  reconstructed  their  educational  ideal, 
yielding  to  science  an  honored  place  side  by  side  with 
the  older  linguistic  branches. 

The  second  grand  movement  in  the  history  of  edu- 
cation since  the  Renaissance  has  now  taken  place. 
The  first  represents  the  supremacy  of  the  humanities 
in  the  form  of  ancient  languages ;  the  second,  the  ad- 
mission of  the  natural  sciences  as  coordinate  branches. 
To-day  we  are  preparing  to  inaugurate  a  third  and 
grander  period,  which  shall  be  in  itself  the  synthesis 
and  final  culmination  of  the  other  two. 

Man,  with  only  an  introspective  knowledge  of  him- 
self, is  what  the  mediaeval  monks  thought  him  —  a  citi- 
zen of  Heaven  wretchedly  stranded  upon  this  desert 
island  in  the  sea  of  Eternity.  This  means  for  the 
learned,  alternating  ecstasy  and  despair,  and  for  the 
masses,  ignorance,  poverty,  disease,  together  with  their 
attendant  forms  of  wretchedness.  Universal  educa- 
tion, high  standard  of  living,  and  at  the  same  time 
dense  population,  are  not  to  be  thought  of  under  such 
conditions. 

On  the  other  hand,  man  can  never  know  so  much  of 
nature  that  he  needs  to  know  nothing  of  himself.  In 
a  broad  sense  Pope's  dictum,  "The  proper  study  of 
mankind  is  man,"  is  still  true.  Not  man  simply  as 
an  introspective  being,  or  man  as  smothered  in  the 
dust  of  science,  but  man  as  a  universal  being  whose 
spiritual  ends  are  realized  through  the  means  that 
science  puts  at  his  command.  The  classics  were  the 
beginning  of  modern  education;  natural  science  has 
been  the  contribution  of  more  modern  times.  Both 


A  NEW  ERA  IN  EDUCATION  233 

of  these  enriched  and  focussed  on  life  are  to  form  a 
new  era  in  education,  that  which  in  a  broad  and  lib- 
eral sense  may  be  called  economic.  This  term  may  be 
easily  misconstrued  to  mean  a  narrow  utilitarianism, 
a  restricted  physical  aptitude  and  skill  obtained  by 
the  perpetual  iteration  of  mindless  exercises.  Such  a 
conception  of  the  function  of  education,  however,  is 
unworthy  the  times  in  which  we  live. 

The  economic  culmination  of  the  humanistic  and 
the  scientific  sides  of  our  training,  broadly  considered, 
means  the  conscious  direction  of  thought,  power,  and 
knowledge  to  the  ends  they  are  designed  to  accom- 
plish. 

To  see  how  this  is  possible,  it  is  necessary  to  point 
out  a  current  illusion,  generated  by  the  old  classical 
education.  Many  teachers  have  long  thought,  and  still 
think,  that  a  liberal  education  consists  not  in  master- 
ing knowledge,  but  in  developing  power  through  the 
medium  of  grammar  and  pure  mathematics,  the  idea 
being  that  if  we  can  once  develop  the  power,  it  may 
be  applied,  like  a  mechanical  force,  to  any  desired  end. 
Reflection  will  show  that  this  supposed  formal  disci- 
pline of  the  mind  by  two  kinds  of  study  is  largely 
mythical,  but  that  if  properly  directed  they  are  rather 
rich  and  concrete  as  far  as  they  go,  being,  however, 
exceedingly  narrow  in  range.  What  is  gained  by  this 
grammatical  drill  ?  A  keen,  discriminating  knowl- 
edge of  the  laws  of  thinking,  and  a  power  to  distin- 
guish the  most  subtle  phases  of  thought.  Every  page 
of  the  text  abounds  in  concrete  illustrations  of  the 
things  the  classicist  is  trying  to  learn.  Any  sentence 
may  illustrate  the  use  of  the  dative  case,  or  the  intri- 


234     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

cacies  of  the  subjunctive  mood,  and  this  process  of 
illustration  and  verification  of  the  laws  of  language 
goes  on  day  after  day,  month  after  month,  year  after 
year.  Were  natural  science  half  so  persistent  in  the 
discovery  and  exemplification  of  her  laws,  she  would 
have  new  triumphs  to  boast.  Latin  and  Greek  may  in 
the  same  way  be  concrete  and  practical.  Their  seem- 
ing formality  is  due  to  their  psychological  character. 
That  alone  is  formal  and  abstract  which  is  divorced 
from  the  purpose  it  should  serve.  The  same  richness 
and  concreteness  are  found  in  pure  mathematics,  thou- 
sands of  problems  being  solved  to  exemplify  a  few  rules. 
This  explains  to  us  the  admirable  results  of  classical 
training  for  those  whose  future  callings  are  largely 
introspective  in  character,  such  as  the  preacher,  the 
teacher,  the  statesman,  and  even  the  physician.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  psychological  or  subjective  out- 
come of  such  an  education  explains  the  instinctive 
hostility  that  practical  men  of  the  world  have  long 
manifested  for  this  training.  Instead  of  the  old 
maxim,  "discipline  first  and  knowledge  afterwards," 
we  must  adopt  the  truer  watchword,  "  discipline 
through  knowledge."  The  chief  defect  of  the  old 
education  is  not  that  it  is  good  for  no  practical  pur- 
pose, but  that  it  is  for  so  many  callings  in  life  a 
partial  and  one-sided  preparation.  For  the  profes- 
sional man  or  woman  it  may  be  economic  in  the  true 
sense,  since  it  has  direct  bearing  on  future  occupa- 
tion ;  for  all  but  the  learned  professions,  however,  it 
may  be  subjective  and  esoteric ;  it  may  leave  the  mind 
steeped  in  the  antiquated  conceptions  of  by-gone  ages, 
which  taken  as  stages  in  a  progress  would  be  valu- 


A  NEW   ERA  IN  EDUCATION  235 

able,  but  which  as  a  substitute  for  the  ruling  ideas  of 
to-day  bear  the  same  relation  to  developed  truth  that 
the  child  does  to  the  man.  In  the  words  of  the  Ger- 
man Emperor,  this  age  needs  young  Germans,  young 
Englishmen,  young  Americans,  not  young  Greeks  and 
Eomans. 

The  truth  is,  as  has  been  intimated,  the  old  educa- 
tion was  practical  and  economic  for  a  small  class  to 
whom  a  concrete  introspective  training  was  the  best 
preparation  for  life.  Our  problem,  however,  is  the 
education  of  all  classes.  The  introduction  of  the  nat- 
ural sciences  has  immensely  broadened  the  scope  of 
the  usefulness  of  modern  education.  But  the  concep- 
tion is  comparatively  new  that,  not  only  can  science 
minister  to  the  wants  of  a  new  class  of  our  population, 
but  that  by  a  proper  adjustment  of  subject-matter  and 
the  employment  of  right  methods  of  teaching,  all 
minds  can  be  trained,  and  at  the  same  time  be  pre- 
pared for  the  best  possible  success  in  their  several 
callings.  The  powers  that  we  have  can  be  trained 
through  the  knowledge  we  most  need ;  as  in  the  binoc- 
ular microscope,  trained  mind  and  acquired  knowledge 
are  focussed  in  the  economic  activities  of  every  calling 
in  life.  Is  drawing  less  educative  when  applied  to 
the  plans  for  a  mighty  temple,  than  when  sketching 
the  bust  of  a  Pallas  Athene  to  adorn  one  of  its  niches  ? 
Is  botany  less  noble  when  discovering  the  laws  of 
plant  organization  and  investigating  the  conditions  of 
healthy  growth,  than  it  is  when  it  leads  the  youth 
of  our  land  into  field  and  forest  in  order  to  gather  and 
name  the  flowers  ?  Are  not  chemistry  and  physics 
quite  as  interesting,  instructive,  and  educative  when 


236     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

developed  to  the  point  of  their  economic  application, 
as  they  are  when  arrested  at  their  abstract  stages  out 
of  all  felt  relations  to  ultimate  ends  ? 

In  addition  to  the  old  narrow  curriculum  of  classics 
and  pure  mathematics  we  have  on  the  humanistic  side, 
the  English  language  and  literature,  modern  foreign 
languages,  modern  history,  together  with  the  study 
of  the  rise  and  development  of  constitutional  govern- 
ment and  other  democratic  institutions.  On  the  side 
of  science,  we  have  the  marvellous  development  of  pure 
and  applied  mathematics,  of  chemistry  and  physics, 
besides  the  modern  biological  sciences,  whose  princi- 
ple of  evolution  has  given  new  life  to  every  great 
interest  of  the  human  mind.  Besides  these  two  lines 
of  study,  enriched  and  fertilized  as  they  are  by  appli- 
cation to  practical  ends,  we  have  another  large  group 
of  studies  applicable  to  the  economic  activities  in  the 
narrower  sense.  They  are  such  branches  as  manual 
training,  industrial  drawing,  industrial  art,  civil,  me- 
chanical, and  electrical  engineering,  and  the  still 
greater  subjects,  finance  and  administration,  together 
with  economics,  or  the  study  of  the  laws  that  govern 
the  production,  distribution,  and  consumption  of  wealth. 

What  have  we  to  expect  from  the  new  spirit  that 
is  animating  the  educational  world  ?  Everything  that 
education  can  contribute  to  the  progress  of  civilization. 
Once  the  world  was  in  the  hands  of  the  monks.  We 
know  their  ideals  and  their  deeds.  For  a  hundred 
years  it  has  been  in  the  hands  of  the  scientists. 
We  know  what  they  have  done.  They  have  made 
it  possible  for  many  more  people  to  live  much  bet- 
ter; but  at  the  same  time  they  have  also  made  it 


A  NEW   ERA   IN   EDUCATION  237 

possible  for  a  few  men  with  large  brains  and  great 
capital  so  to  dominate  the  people  that  though  pros- 
perity and  high  standards  of  living  may  in  some 
measure  be  within  the  reach  of  the  masses,  yet  under 
adverse  circumstances  the  most  wholesale  misery  may 
result.  The  future,  therefore,  belongs  neither  to  the 
humanist,  nor  to  the  scientist  as  such,  but  to  both 
combined  in  the  economist.  The  mental  effort  once 
lavished  on  the  logic  of  the  schoolmen,  and  now  on 
the  development  of  science,  must  in  the  future  be  set 
to  work  in  solving  the  economic  problems  of  life. 

I  have  said  that  the  human  element,  represented  still 
in  large  measure  by  the  classic  languages,  is  an  indis- 
pensable element  in  any  comprehensive  modern  educa- 
tion. One  of  the  prominent  results  of  the  old  studies 
is  the  appreciation  of  the  beautiful  generated  in  the 
soul.  Beauty,  if  not  the  religion  of  the  Greek,  was 
its  invariable  attendant,  —  beauty  not  as  an  adorner 
and  sweetener  of  life,  but  beauty  as  an  end.  Thus  in 
the  words  of  Emerson :  — 

"Tell  them,  dear,  if  eyes  were  made  for  seeing, 
Then  beauty  is  its  own  excuse  for  being." 

One  has,  however,  but  to  consider  what  has  been 
accomplished  in  many  new  institutions  of  learning 
where  industrial  art  is  studied,  to  find  that  in  this 
respect  also  there  has  been  a  new  combination.  Not 
only  is  weary  toil  sustained  by  the  hope  of  ultimate 
rewards,  but  it  is  sweetened  and  illumined  throughout 
its  course  by  artistic  ideals.  Beauty,  therefore,  from 
being  an  idol  before  which  we  may  bow,  becomes  a 
cheering  spirit  whose  wand  transforms  drudgery  into 


238     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

pleasing  labor.  Why  should  not  every  workman  be 
an  artist?  A  dinner-table  with  only  potatoes  and 
bread  for  food,  and  water  for  drink  may  still  be  the 
center  of  pleasing  intercourse.  It  need  not  be  a  stall 
for  feeding.  The  coarsest  material  can  be  made  into 
becoming  garments,  humble  homes  may  enjoy  the 
gladness  of  beauty.  All  this  is  attained,  not  through 
the  elimination  of  art  as  such,  but  by  an  application 
of  it  to  common  things.  Knowledge,  thought-power, 
artistic  taste,  are  no  longer  isolated  and  held  aloof 
from  daily  living,  but  are  blended,  harmonized,  and 
utilized  to  make  life  more  worth  living. 

At  the  beginning  of  Western  civilization,  under 
favorable  climatic  conditions  and  with  the  minority 
able  to  enslave  the  majority,  it  was  not  unfitting  that 
art  should  become  the  supreme  end  for  which  the 
educational  forces  of  the  time  were  organized.  This 
stage  of  society  may  fitly  be  symbolized  by  the  Apollo 
Belvidere,  the  classic  repose  of  whose  well-rounded 
form  suggests  nothing  of  the  modern  spirit.  The 
symmetrical  limbs  are  made,  not  for  work,  but  for 
entrancing  the  eye.  The  placid  features  betoken  no 
moral  struggle,  no  resolution  to  overcome  difficulties ; 
they  indicate  rather  a  being  made  for  sensuous  enjoy- 
ment, not  for  thinking  or  volition. 

During  the  great  middle  period  of  our  civilization, 
when  men  were  busied  with  revelation  and  subjective 
analysis,  educational  agencies  were  directed  to  these 
ends.  The  symbol  of  those  times  is  the  Madonna. 
Her  upward  straining  eyes  proclaim  the  renunciation 
of  earth,  the  aspiration  for  heaven.  Sense  and  will 
are  dissolved  in  religious  sentiment. 


A  NEW  ERA  IN  EDUCATION  239 

The  antique  brings  the  god  to  earth,  the  mediaeval 
translates  the  mortal  to  the  skies,  but  the  modern  man 
uses  his  godlike  powers  to  realize  the  heaven  within 
himself.  His  symbol  is  Michael  Angelo's  statue  of 
Moses,  the  man  who  works  out  the  destiny  of  his  race 
upon  earth  by  means  of  his  heaven-lent  powers.  On 
his  brow  there  are  written  both  thought  and  resolution. 
His  rugged  form,  his  starting  tendons  and  swelling 
muscles  betoken  the  man  of  action.  His  is  the  modern 
spirit  that  focusses  thought,  sense,  and  sentiment  upon 
the  vital  problems  encountered  in  realizing  the  will 
of  God  upon  earth.  It  is  to  these  ends  that  our 
modern  education  must  be  consciously  organized.  Un- 
less the  thinking  forces  of  this  country  are  turned 
from  the  subordinated  ideals  of  the  past  to  the  vital 
ones  of  the  present,  hunger  and  economic  servitude 
will  cause  the  masses  to  change  evolution  into  revolu- 
tion as  they  have  done  before,  when  those  who  should 
have  been  their  leaders  became  their  masters. 

We  shall,  as  in  the  past,  need  the  poet  to  solace  the 
soul,  and  the  artist  to  delight  the  eye,  but  most  of  all  we 
shall  need  to  have  all  the  power  of  learning  applied  to 
the  elevation  of  man.  Like  the  whirring  dynamos  pro- 
pelled by  the  hitherto  unused  power  of  Niagara,  which 
loses  no  beauty  in  being  useful,  this  new  educational 
influence,  brought  to  view  by  the  necessities  of  an 
economic  age,  has  begun  to  generate  a  life  current, 
which  in  the  fulness  of  time  is  destined  to  warm,  to 
move,  and  to  light  the  world. 


CHAPTER  IV 

PROPOSED  BASES  FOR  THE  COORDINATION  OF   STUDIES 

THE  critique  of  the  THREE  PLANS  FOB  THE  CORRE- 
LATION OF  STUDIES  in  Chapter  II  of  Part  III  leads 
inevitably  to  the  conclusion  that  the  coordination  of 
studies  is  greatly  to  be  preferred  to  their  concentration, 
whether  we  consider  culture-studies  or  nature-studies 
as  the  center  about  which  all  other  branches  should  be 
arranged  and  to  which  they  shall  be  subordinated,  or 
whether,  with  Colonel  Parker,  we  accept  universal 
natural  law  as  the  guide  to  presentation.  Coordination 
allows  each  important  subject,  or  group  of  subjects,  to 
have  its  own  principle  of  development,  contenting  itself 
with  natural  and  easy  associations  in  the  lower  grades, 
and  not  attempting  to  give  a  philosophic  grasp  of  the 
highest  unity  of  knowledge  until  the  pupil  is  sufficiently 
mature  to  comprehend  this  phase  of  thought.  Fur- 
thermore, coordination  permits  us  to  present  one  sub- 
ject at  a  time,  thus  relieving  us  from  the  need  of 
abandoning  important  studies  to  the  hazard  of  inci- 
dental treatment.  The  same  discussion  leads,  too,  to 
the  conclusion  that  the  historical  principle  of  sequence, 
though  of  unquestioned  value,  need  not  be  followed 
240 


COORDINATION   OF   STUDIES  241 

blindly,  but  that  the  environment  of  the  child  is  just 
as  potent  an  influence  in  his  understanding  and  in- 
terest as  any  adaptation  of  culture  epochs  to  his 
periods  of  development  can  be. 

The  discussion  of  A  New  Era  in  Education  in  the 
preceding  chapter  calls  attention  to  a  fact  often  for- 
gotten by  the  teacher,  viz.,  that  the  highest  function 
of  education  is  to  fit  the  pupil  for  life,  —  not  the 
esoteric  life  of  the  recluse  or  the  dreamy  idealist, 
but  the  life  of  the  man  of  affairs,  who  takes  an  ac- 
tive part  in  all  that  pertains  to  human  welfare  and 
advancement.  Such  a  man  is  not  merely  subjec- 
tively but  also  objectively  moral;  he  is  a  good  parent, 
a  good  citizen,  an  efficient  man  of  business,  who  is 
able  to  advance  his  own  interests  through  honest 
promotion  of  the  interests  of  others.  Too  many  of 
our  educational  ideals  are  mediaeval  in  their  origin; 
they  take  as  their  model  some  worn-out  conception 
of  culture,  or  they  fix  their  gaze  upon  some  special 
calling,  forgetting  that  education  is  no  longer  the 
prerogative  of  the  few  professional  classes,  but  has 
become  the  just  privilege  of  all  classes.  If,  then,  we 
are  in  earnest  about  universal  educatjon,  we  must 
abandon  these  one-sided  ideals,  and,  once  for  all, 
recognize  that  our  education  succeeds  just  to  the 
extent  that  we  make  it  focus  upon  the  real  activities 
of  life.  Rosenkranz  is  fond  of  emphasizing  the  idea 
of  self-estrangement  as  a  necessary  means  of  culture. 
He  says,  "All  culture,  whatever  may  be  its  special 
purport,  must  pass  through  these  two  stages  —  of 
estrangement  and  its  removal.  Culture  must  in- 
tensify the  distinction  between  the  subject  and  the 


242     HERBAET  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

object,  or  that  of  immediateness,  though  it  has  again 
to  absorb  this  distinction  into  itself ;  in  this  way  the 
union  of  the  two  may  be  more  complete  and  lasting. 
The  subject  recognizes,  then,  all  the  more  certainly 
that  what  at  first  appeared  to  it  as  a  foreign  existence 
belongs  to  it  potentially  as  its  own  possession,  and 
that  it  comes  into  actual  possession  of  it  by  means  of 
culture."1  This  view,  exaggerated  it  may  be,  is  one 
of  the  evils  of  modern  education.  The  pupil  is  so 
sunk  in  the  distant,  foreign,  and  alien,  and  submerged 
for  so  long  a  time,  that  he  often  fails  to  come  to  him- 
self at  all,  continuing  to  live  in  a  land  of  dreams  long 
after  he  should  have  been  in  a  land  of  realities.  What- 
ever truth  there  may  be  in  this  theory  is  more  safely 
expressed  by  Herbart  in  his  doctrine  of  absorption  and 
reflection,  in  which  at  one  moment  the  pupil  becomes 
lost  in  the  absorption  of  new  experiences,  but  in  the 
next  comes  to  himself,  and  makes  the  alien  his  own 
through  reflection.  But  these  stages  should  not  last 
for  long  periods  of  time,  as  Rosenkranz  implies  they 
may,  for  in  that  case  the  student  is  in  danger  of  be- 
coming a  citizen  of  the  alien  land,  and  an  adherent  of 
its  dust-covered  ideals. 

For  all  these  reasons,  it  is  urged  that  modern 
schools  should  distinctly  recognize  in  their  curricula 
the  presence  of  the  economic  idea,  not  only  as  a  prin- 
ciple influencing  the  choice  and  pursuit  of  all  knowl- 
edge, but  also  as  a  distinct  center  for  an  important 
group  of  school  activities.  In  addition,  therefore,  to 
the  traditional  human  and  nature  groups,  we  shall 
need  to  add  the  third  or  economic  group  of  studies. 
1  Rosenkranz,  Philosophy  of  Education,  pp.  27,  28. 


COOKDINATION  OF  STUDIES  243 

Instead,  therefore,  of  adopting  Ziller's  plan  of  using 
literature  and  history  as  a  single  core  of  concentra- 
tion to  which  all  other  subjects  shall  be  made  subor- 
dinate, and  from  which  they  must  derive  their  prin- 
ciple of  sequence ;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  of  attempting 
a  similar  concentration  about  the  nature-studies,  the 
proposition  is  here  made  to  have  three  coordinate,  but 
more  or  less  distinct  cores  or  centers  of  unification,  hav- 
ing constant  cross-relations  wherever  the  nature  of  the 
subject-matter  and  the  convenience  of  the  class-room 
make  them  advisable.  Literature  and  geography  as- 
sume the  nature  of  universal  correlating  studies,  since 
the  concrete  matter  of  all  three  cores  has  both  literary 
and  geographical  aspects.  The  three  cores  appear  as 
follows :  — 

1.  The  humanistic  group  of  studies  having  a  dis- 
tinct ethical  content  in  literature  and  history,  and  a 
historical  development  as  seen  in  the  culture  epochs 
through  Avhich  civilization  has  passed. 

2.  The  nature  group  of  studies  having  no  specific 
ethical  content  and  no  long  progression  from  primitive 
to  higher  and  higher  truths,  since  for  the  most  part 
these  studies  have  all  been  developed    during  the 
present  century. 

3.  The  third  core  represents  the  two  factors  man 
and  nature  in  interaction,  and  is  at  once  a  principle  of 
application  for  all  studies,  and  a  specific  department, 
as  seen  in  such  subjects  as  manual  training,  industrial 
art,  mechanical  drawing,  commercial  geography,  and 
the  like. 

Each  of  these  groups  must  now  be  briefly  discussed. 


244     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 


1.   THE  HUMANISTIC   CORE 

However  much,  the  ultimate  theories  of  education 
may  differ,  it  may  fairly  be  asserted  that  in  elemen- 
tary education  our  best  thinkers  unite  in  the  opinion 
that  concrete,  interesting  matter  is  far  preferable  to 
the  dry  bones  of  purely  formal  and  mechanical  instruc- 
tion. In  place  of  the  old  motto  of  discipline  and 
knowledge,  we  have  really  adopted  in  practice  the  new 
one,  viz.,  discipline  through  knowledge.  Furthermore, 
the  present  almost  universal  interest  in  ethical  train- 
ing leads  to  the  conclusion  that  our  former  standpoint 
of  mere  intellectuality  in  school  education  is  being 
gradually  shifted  to  one  that  takes  far  more  cogni- 
zance of  the  need  of  developing  moral  character. 
From  these  facts  it  may  be  presumed  that  the  propo- 
sition to  make  literature  and  history  one  core  of  uni- 
fication, with  which  more  formal  linguistic  studies 
may  be  associated,  will  be  received  as  seasonable  and 
practicable. 

In  the  studies  of  this  core,  and  with  proper  respect 
to  experience  under  modern  conditions,  Ziller's  prin- 
ciple of  following  in  the  main  the  chief  epochs  of 
civilization  is  a  workable  one.  Literature  should  be- 
gin with  the  fable,  which  is  of  Asiatic  origin,  and 
which  presents  the  economic  or  utilitarian  standpoint 
of  action.  The  fables  represent  virtuous  action  as 
paying  larger  dividends  of  pleasure  and  advantage  than 
vice  or  wrong-doing.  These  should  be  accompanied  by 
folk-lore  and  fairy  tales,  which  have  taken  their  origin 
in  the  primitive  stages  of  society,  and  which  intro- 


COOKDINATION   OF  STUDIES  245 

duce  moral  ideas  as  ends  of  action.  It  should  be 
noted  that  modern  works  on  primitive  life  may  be 
most  admirable  material,  as,  for  instance,  Longfellow's 
Hiawatha;  the  content,  not  the  time  of  action  or  liter- 
ary record,  being  the  important  thing.  Following  this 
stage,  literature  should  show,  in  gradually  broadening 
relations,  the  chief  situations  in  which  the  individual 
may  stand  to  organized  society.  Besides  the  literature 
already  described  we  have  also  a  literature  of  nature, 
and  to  some  extent  of  economic  life.  An  illustration  is 
found  in  Robinson  Crusoe,  which,  according  to  Ziller's 
plan,  is  taught  in  the  second  grade  ostensibly  as  the 
center  of  the  ethical  group,  whereas  it  is  not  essen- 
tially ethical,  but  economical.  It  develops  in  reality 
the  industrial  instincts  of  the  child,  while  the  ethical 
element  is  dragged  in  or  magnified  out  of  due  propor- 
tion in  order  to  fit  an  artificial  scheme  of  coordination. 
The  effort  to  attach  a  moral  to  those  things  not  inher- 
ently moral  in  their  nature  is  harmful  rather  than  bene- 
ficial ;  character  is  not  promoted  by  perpetual  tinkering 
on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  Alongside  of  this  ideal 
presentation  of  human  acts  and  its  results  should  stand 
the  historical,  and  by  following  a  like  principle  there 
will  be  no  serious  difficulty  about  unification.  Early 
history  will,  as  recommended  by  the  Eeport  of  the 
Committee  of  Ten,  begin  with  mythology,  which  will 
easily  blend  with  the  early  literature,  and  will  pro- 
ceed to  biography,  which  will  assume  largely  the 
literary  coloring  in  the  mind  of  the  child.  This  will 
gradually  merge  into  history  proper  in  the  upper 
grammar  grades. 

Human  deeds,  both  actual  and  ideal,  are  the  expres- 


246     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

sion  of  ethical  forces,  but  language  is  necessary  for 
their  preservation  and  transmission.  Language  study 
becomes,  therefore,  merely  the  formal  part  of  literary 
and  historical  study.  In  the  elementary  grades  it  is 
the  mother-tongue  that  we  must  deal  with,  so  that  a 
sufficiently  close  coordination  with  these  studies  may 
be  brought  about.  Were  instruction  in  this  branch  of 
elementary  education  nothing  more  than  lessons  in 
composition,  spelling,  and  penmanship,  it  might  be 
made  purely  incidental  to  the  other  work.  This  is, 
however,  not  the  case.  The  mother-tongue  has  a 
system  of  grammatical  forms  which  represent  the 
method  of  Anglo-Saxon  thought.  To  master  these 
forms  is  to  be  able  to  perceive  the  thought  distinc- 
tions they  represent.  The  approach  to  a  perception 
of  these  distinctions,  or  grammatical  ideas,  must 
be  slow,  and  to  the  child  almost  unconscious.  By 
means  of  carefully  graded  concrete  language  exercises 
whose  content  shall  be  taken  from  the  material  of 
literature,  history,  and  nature  study,  it  is  possible  to 
make  an  easy  approach  to  English  grammar.  Nearly 
all  the  material  for  composition-work  proper  may 
likewise  be  chosen  from  the  same  sources. 

According  to  the  view  here  presented,  the  literary 
and  historical  treatment  of  men,  both  in  their  individ- 
ual and  in  their  corporate  or  institutional  capacity, 
together  with  the  literary  aspects  of  nature,  are,  in 
large  degree,  fitted  to  reveal  to  the  child  the  moral 
order  of  the  world  in  which  he  must  live.  They  form, 
therefore,  the  most  natural  core  for  direct  efforts  to 
impart  moral  ideals  and  to  inculcate  right  moral  dis- 
position. 


247 


2.   THE  SCIENTIFIC  CORE 

In  the  case  of  nature-studies,  the  leading  purpose 
and  unifying  principle  must  be  presumed  to  be  scien- 
tific rather  than  ethical  in  the  narrower  sense  of  the 
term.  That  it  may  be  clearly  understood  in  what 
sense  science  is  and  is  not  ethical,  we  should  clearly  dis- 
tinguish between  an  ethical  instrument  and  an  ethical 
content.  It  is  quite  possible  to  give  a  boy  a  training 
in  science  that  shall  be  ethical  in  a  high  degree,  since 
he  may  be  taught  to  be  careful,  diligent,  painstaking, 
and  truthful  in  all  his  mental  operations.  Blacking 
boots  or  sawing  wood  might  also  yield  the  same  ethi- 
cal lessons,  yet  we  should  not  ascribe  ethical  content 
to  the  blacking,  the  brush,  the  wood-pile,  or  the  saw. 
It  is  the  boy's  action  that  has  the  ethical  quality,  and 
in  this  case  the  things  used  are  only  the  instruments 
of  an  ethical  deed.  In  the  same  way  science  studies 
have  a  high  value  as  instruments  in  the  training  of 
character,  but  since  their  content  is  scientific,  material 
fact,  having  no  quality  of  good  or  bad  will,  they  cer- 
tainly are  morally  quite  indifferent.  Whereas,  then, 
the  content  of  literature  and  history  is  ethical,  since 
these  exhibit  the  good  or  bad  will  of  men,  the  content 
of  nature-studies  is  in  the  last  analysis  non-ethical  or 
scientific,  since  it  pertains  solely  to  the  facts  and  laws 
of  nature. 

For  reasons  already  given  it  is  clear  that  the  his- 
torical principle  has  little  or  no  applicability  to  this 
group  of  subjects.  We  must  therefore  find  other  and 
more  practicable  bases  for  unification.  It  can  hardly 


248     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

be  said  that  scientists  themselves  are  a  unit  as  to 
what  should  constitute  the  proper  selection,  -sequence, 
and  correlation  of  topics  in  nature-studies ;  indeed, 
not  very  much  thought  has  been  given  to  the  sub- 
ject. Twenty  years  ago  teachers  were  declaring  that 
science  has  small  value  for  education  or  discipline  in 
any  field.  Its  knowledge  value  was  conceded,  but 
since  nearly  all  sought  to  teach  it  in  accordance  with 
the  methods  common  in  languages,  mathematics,  and 
philosophy,  its  own  peculiar  excellence  as  an  instru- 
ment in  education  did  not  appear.  In  the  higher 
education  all  this  has  been  changed,  so  that  science  is 
now  valued  by  liberal-minded  men  as  much  for  its 
educational  discipline  as  for  its  useful  information. 
Science  has  become  a  clear  exemplification  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  discipline  through  knowledge.  The  most,  per- 
haps, that  we  can  claim  regarding  nature-studies  in 
elementary  grades  is  that  men  are  now  ready  to  grant 
the  priority  of  psychological  grounds  in  sequence  of 
parts  and  coordination  of  branches.  The  tendency 
has  been  to  a  tandem  arrangement  of  subjects  and  a 
logical  sequence  of  parts.  This  position  has  been, 
or  is  destined  to  be,  abandoned.  The  environment 
of  the  child,  his  psychological  needs,  and  the  oppor- 
tunities of  season  and  situation,  must  determine  in 
large  measure  the  selection  of  material  in  the  earlier 
grades.  The  Eeport  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  is  rich 
in  suggestions  as  to  the  selection  and  sequence  of 
topics,  though  for  reasons  already  given  little  or  no 
coordination  has  been  accomplished 

Just  as  language  constitutes  the  formal  aspect  of 
humanistic  studies,  on  the  one  hand,  so  mathematics 


COORDINATION  OF  STUDIES  249 

is  the  formal  aspect  of  nature-study  in  its  quantitative 
relations,  on  the  other.  Hitherto  our  elementary  work 
in  number  has  been  largely  divorced  from  any  con- 
siderable concrete  matter  and  taught  chiefly  as  an 
abstraction.  While  nothing  can  make  mathematics 
easier  than  it  is  by  nature,  much  can  make  it  easier 
and  more  interesting  than  it  has  been  in  practice. 
Professor  Jackman  points  out  that  about  the  only  con- 
crete matter  we  have  used  has  been  the  idea  of  value, 
while  Colonel  Parker,  in  his  Theory  of  Concentration, 
shows  very  clearly  how  numerical  calculations  may 
be  associated  with  distances,  areas,  volumes,  weights, 
densities,  and  sizes,  to  say  nothing  of  time  and  forces.1 
The  chief  reason,  perhaps,  why  so  many  arithmetics 
limit  their  concrete  illustrations  of  numerical  rela- 
tions to  considerations  of  value,  is  that  heretofore  so 
few  content  studies  have  been  taught  in  the  school. 
With  their  advent,  however,  arithmetic  need  no  longer 
stand  as  an  unrelated  part  of  the  curriculum. 

It  appears  evident  that  number  and  culture  sub- 
jects are  practically  incommensurable,  beyond  the 
barest  beginnings  of  numerical  relations.  Three  per- 
sons may  be  mentioned  in  a  story,  and  it  is"  not  absurd 
that  the  primary  teacher  should  use  this  fact  to  verify 
the  idea  of  the  number  involved.  Yet,  at  the  most, 
this  helps  merely  to  associate  number  with  objects. 
Any  attempt  to  establish  important  numerical  rela- 
tions by  means  of  such  material  would  be  far-fetched 
and  ineffective.  The  case  is  different,  however,  with 
natural  science  and  with  economic  and  business  affairs. 
Here  quantitative  relations  force  themselves  upon  us, 
1  Theory  of  Concentration,  Chapter  IV. 


250     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

being  often  essential  to  complete  comprehension  of 
a  subject.  It  is  for  these  reasons  that  attempts  to 
correlate  mathematics  with  literature  and  history  seem 
fantastic,  while  efforts  to  do  the  same  with  the  sci- 
ences as  well  as  with  economic  values  appear  natural 
and  rational. 

3.   THE  ECONOMIC   CORE 

The  third  core  of  instruction,  here  called  the  eco- 
nomic, has  been  but  partially  recognized  in  our  course 
of  study.  It  is  the  purpose  of  the  preceding  chapter 
to  show  how  significant  for  the  welfare  and  progress 
of  mankind  this  phase  of  education  is.  A  child  not 
trained  for  the  social  and  economic  environment  in 
which  he  must  live  is  by  no  means  rightly  educated. 
Should  we  insist  upon  clothing  the  inhabitants  of 
warm  countries  with  bear  skins,  and  upon  feeding  them 
with  blubber,  we  should  commit  no  greater  breach  of 
the  eternal  fitness  of  things,  than  we  may  now  easily 
commit  by  failing  to  adapt  the  child's  education  to  the 
needs  of  modern  life.  Universal  formal  education 
into  the  years  of  manhood  as  a  basis  for  the  special 
preparation  for  callings  is  a  schoolmaster's  dream, 
unattainable  even  if  desirable,  and  undesirable  even 
if  attainable.  Education  must  fit  for  living,  all  along 
the  line,  and  the  better  it  is  adapted  to  this  end  the 
more  the  people  will  cherish  and  promote  it. 

The  economic  trend  of  education  must  be  observed 
both  as  a  principle  for  all  study,  and  as  a  department  of 
special  work.  As  a  principle,  it  seeks  to  focus  all 
instruction  upon  the  practical  ends  it  should  serve. 


COORDINATION  OF  STUDIES  251 

As  a  department,  it  has  a  double  aspect,  the  adapta- 
tion of  nature  to  man,  and  the  preparation  of  man  for 
his  conquest  over  nature.  There  are,  accordingly, 
two  phases  of  its  appearance  in  the  ciirriculum.  The 
first  is  the  direct  physical  training  the  child  needs  for 
mastering  and  utilizing  the  forces  of  nature ;  and  the 
other  is  the  more  contemplative  study  of  economic 
manifestations,  such  as  are  seen  in  industries,  com- 
merce, agriculture,  and  the  like.  The  first  of  these 
two  sides  is  the  very  important  practical  education 
now  known  in  the  elementary  schools  as  manual  or 
industrial  training,  and  the  second  is  the  view  brought 
to  light  through  economic  and  social  literature,  rein- 
forced by  the  commercial  and  social  aspects  of  geog- 
raphy. 

Many  manuals  describing  the  sequence  and  conduct 
of  manual  training  work  of  all  grades  have  been  pub- 
lished. The  principle  of  sequence  depends  for  the 
most  part  upon  psychological  and  practical  grounds. 
It  is  evident  that  no  sequence,  however  philosophical 
in  itself,  can  be  adopted  that  plainly  transcends  the 
capacity  of  the  schools  with  respect  to  teachers,  ma- 
terials, and  appliances. 

But  little  serious  attempt  has  been  made  to  select  a 
body  of  literature  to  stimulate  in  the  mind  an  interest 
in  the  correlation  between  man  and  nature,  and  in  fact 
it  is  only  in  very  recent  times  that  a  literature  has 
begun  to  grow  up  that  takes  full  account  of  modern 
economic  and  social  environments.  Robinson  Crusoe 
is  a  classic  upon  the  imaginative  treatment  of  indus- 
trial evolution.  Eobinson  Crusoe's  constant  thought 
is  how  he  shall  preserve  his  life  and  add  to  his  com- 


252     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

fort  by  mastering  nature  with  the  slender  means  at  his 
command.  The  surest  evidence  of  the  economic  trend 
of  this  work  is  that  most  children  are  at  once  stimu- 
lated by  their  reading  of  Robinson  Crusoe  to  dig  caves, 
and  to  construct  boats,  pottery,  huts  and  the  like,  the 
ethical  element  remaining  mostly  in  the  background. 
The  greatest  obstacle  to  the  use  of  this  book  in  the 
schools  has  been  its  labored  style,  its  heavy  vocabulary, 
and  its  introspective  analyses.  A  carefully  edited  edi- 
tion has  now  been  prepared  for  the  use  of  pupils  in  the 
third  and  fourth  grades.1  More  advanced  imaginative 
literature  of  this  type  may  be  found  in  Jules  Verne's 
books,  the  Swiss  Family  Robinson,  More's  Utopia, 
The  House  that  Jack  Built,  Lawrence's  Adventures 
among  the  Glass  Blowers,  Rutledge's  Every  Boy's  Book, 
and  the  like.  A  literature  fitted  to  the  modern  con- 
ditions of  social  and  family  life  is  also  growing  up,  a 
type  of  which  may  be  seen  in  the  books  of  Louisa  M. 
Alcott  for  children. 

Just  as  language  is  the  formal  side  of  the  ethical 
core,  and  mathematics  of  the  scientific,  so  mechanical 
drawing  is  the  formal  side  of  manual  training  and 
industrial  art,  with  which  it  may  be  closely  associated. 

We  have  now  three  parallel-lying  and  somewhat 
independent  cores  of  unification  about  which  closely 
related  subjects  are  grouped.  The  chief  idea  of  the 
first,  taken  in  a  broad  sense,  is  ethical,  representing 
the  deeds  of  man  as  a  free  being,  the  principle  of 
sequence  being  to  considerable  extent  the  historical; 
the  spirit  of  the  second  group  is  scientific,  not  ethical, 

1  Robinson  Crusoe,  edited  by  Mrs.  Lida  B.  McMurry,  Public 
School  Publishing  Co.,  Bloomington,  HI. 


COORDINATION  OF  STUDIES  253 

and  it  represents  nature  in  its  independent  aspects, 
the  principles  of  sequence  and  correlation  being  deter- 
mined chiefly  by  psychological  grounds  and  outward 
circumstances,  and  only  secondarily  by  the  logical 
order  of  developed  sciences ;  the  third  core  of  unifica- 
tion represents  man  and  nature  in  interaction,  and 
lays  the  chief  emphasis  upon  preparing  the  child 
through  industrial  training  the  better  to  master  and 
direct  the  forces  of  nature,  providing  at  the  same  time 
a  literary  or  imaginative  contemplation  of  the  eco- 
nomic field,  and  also  a  study  of  actual  conditions  in 
commercial  geography. 

Before  concluding,  it  may  be  well  to  add  a  few 
practical  considerations  regarding  special  means  for 
coordinating  the  various  subjects  of  the  curriculum. 
'We  have  already  seen  how  the  reading  in  the  form 
of  literature  pertains  alike  to  culture,  nature,  and 
economics.  It  becomes,  therefore,  a  possible  means 
for  bringing  about  close  associations  among  the  vari- 
ous realms  of  knowledge.  The  most  universal  content 
subject,  however,  is  perhaps  geography,  whose  mani- 
fold relations  to  the  subject-matter  of  the  curriculum 
may  be  briefly  considered. 

Heretofore  geography  seems  to  have  been  taught 
mostly  from  the  political  standpoint ;  that  is,  it  has 
been  used  to  show  the  present  resultant  of  all  the 
historical  forces ;  but  our  conception  of  the  function 
of  geography  is  at  once  broadened  when  we  look  to 
it  for  a  partial  answer  as  to  how  the  facts  of  political 
geography  have  come  to  be  as  they  are.  In  other 
words,  while  we  study  the  processes  of  history  we 
look  to  physical  geography  to  show  us  the  conditions 


254     HEKBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

and  determining  natural  forces  that  have  brought 
results  to  pass.  This  aspect  of  geographical  science 
is  forced  upon  us  in  a  measure  when  we  consider  such 
events  as  Napoleon's  disastrous  Moscow  campaign, 
but  history  as  often  taught  is  as  unconnected  with 
the  earth  as  if  all  its  events  took  place  in  the  upper 
air.  Since  history  must  have  a  place  in  which 
to  unfold,  and  the  unfolding  itself  is  largely  de- 
pendent upon  the  physical  features  of  the  country — 
its  mountains,  rivers,  sea-coasts,  forests,  and  climate, 
we  have  an  explanation  of  the  fact  that  geography, 
as  the  physical  basis  of  history,  is  now  becoming 
an  important  study  in  the  curriculum.  The  ele- 
mentary aspects  of  this  relation  should  appear  in  the 
teaching  of  history  and  geography  in  the  grammar 
schools. 

Geography  has  also  the  most  intimate  connection 
with  the  biological  sciences,  since  conditions  of  soil, 
climate,  elevation,  and  contour  determine  the  char- 
acter and  extent  of  the  flora  of  a  country.  At  the 
same  time  they  determine  the  food  supply  of  animals, 
thus  forming  the  main  condition  for  their  multiplica- 
tion, distribution,  and  migration.  In  other  words, 
whereas  science  treats  of  plants  and  animals  as  indi- 
vidual things,  we  find  in  geography  the  chief  external 
conditions  of  this  existence  in  its  manifold  variations. 
To  no  small  extent,  furthermore,  do  we  find  in  physical 
geography  a  support  for  other  phases  of  science 
study. 

Finally,  what  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most  important 
fields  of  geography  has  been  almost  wholly  neglected 
in  the  schools,  viz.,  commercial  geography.  This 


COORDINATION  OF  STUDIES  255 

shows  in  a  remarkable  way  the  interaction  of  the 
two  factors,  man  and  nature,  and  forms  an  important 
function  in  the  economic  education  of  the  child.  The 
foundations  for  this  study  are  easily  and  fairly  laid 
in  the  early  home  geography.  While  the  child  is  out 
of  doors  gathering  the  elements  of  his  geographical 
concepts,  he  may  at  the  same  time  study  the  forms 
of  industry  at  his  doors,  even  if  it  be  no  more  than 
the  industry  of  the  farm.  A  line  of  questions  as  to 
what  is  produced  in  the  neighborhood  and  what  be- 
comes of  the  product,  what  is  received  in  return  for 
it,  will  open  up  a  new  world  to  the  child.  Then  when 
he  comes  to  study  the  productions  of  other  lands  and 
the  geographical  conditions  that  make  them  possible, 
following  this  up  by  an  investigation  of  the  means 
whereby  the  productions  of  one  land  may  be  exchanged 
for  those  of  another,  he  not  only  gets  an  enlarged 
conception  of  his  own  place  and  function  in  the 
world,  but  he  learns  practically  the  great  ethical 
lesson  that  every  part  of  the  world,  and  every  man 
in  every  part,  is  trying  to  serve  self  through  service 
to  others. 

The  coordinating  value  of  home  and.  commercial 
geography  is  admirably  developed  up  to  the  fifth 
grade  of  the  elementary  school  in  Dr.  C.  A.  McMurry's 
manual  of  Special  Methods  in  Geography.1 

The  specific  detail-work  of  correlating  a  curriculum 
of  study  must  be  done,  for  the  most  part,  in  the 
school  itself.  The  effort  to  do  this  is  most  stimu- 
lating to  all  the  teachers  engaged  in  the  effort. 

1  Special  Methods  in  Geography,  Dr.  Chas.  A.  McMurry,  Public 
School  Publishing  Co.,  Bloomington,  111. 


266     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

Upon  the  basis  already  laid  down,  and  with  the 
example  of  such  men  as  Ziller  and  Frick,  each  super- 
intendent of  schools  will  find  the  way  open,  not  only 
to  the  immediate  improvement  of  his  schools,  but  to 
the  invigorating  of  his  whole  corps  of  teachers. 


APPENDIX 

BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  HERBARTIAN 
LITERATURE » 

GENERAL  PEDAGOGICS 

Ackermann,  Formale  Bildung.     Langensalza. 

Ackermann,  Padagogische  Fragen.     2d  series.    Dresden. 

Frick-Meier,  Sammlung  pSdag.  Abhandlvmgen.     Halle. 

Herbart,  Padagogische  Schriften,  hrsg.  v.  Willmann.  2  vols. 
Leipzig. 

Kern,  Grundriss  der  Padagogik.    4th  ed.    Berlin,  1887. 

Lindner,  Encyklopad.  Handbuch  der  Erziehungskunde. 
Vienna,  1884. 

Rein,  Padagog.  Studien  ;  alte  Folge.    2  vols.     Vienna. 

Schiller,  Handbuch  der  prakt.  Padagogik.  2d  ed.  Leipzig,  1889. 

Stoy,  Encyklopadie  der  PMagogik.     2d  ed.     Leipzig,  1878. 

Strumpell,  Psychologische  Padagogik.    Leipzig,  1880. 

Strumpell,  Das  System  der  Padagogik  Herbarts.    Leipzig,  1894. 

Waitz,  Allgera.  Padagogik,  hrsg.  v.  Willmann.  3d  ed.  Bruns- 
wick. 

Willmann,  Didaktik.    2  vols.     Braunschweig,  1882-89. 

Ziller,  Einleitung  in  die  allg.  Padagogik.  Leipzig,  1866.  Allg. 
Padagogik.  3d  ed.,  hrsg.  v.  Just.  Leipzig. 

Ziller- Vogt,  Jahrblicher  des  Vereins  fiir  wissenschaftliche 
Padagogik.  24  vols.  Dresden. 

1  From  Van  Liew's  Translation  of  Rein's  Outlines  of  Pedagogics. 
267 


258     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

I 

I.  PRACTICAL  PEDAGOGICS 
(A)  THE  FORMS  OF  EDUCATION   • 
1.  HOME  PEDAGOGICS 

Ackermann,  Die  hausliche  Erziehung.    Langensalsa,  1888. 
Stoy,  Hauspadagogik.     Leipzig,  1855. 

Triiper,  Die  Familienrechte  an  der  Erziehung.   2d  ed.  Langen- 
salza,  1892. 

2.  SPECIAL  EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS 
Education  of  the  Deaf  and  Dumb 

Oehlwein,  Meine  Erf ahrungen  u.  Ansichten  iiber  das  Wesen  der 
Vier-  und  schwachsinnigen,  etc.     Weimar,  1883. 

3.  SCHOOL  EDUCATION 
(a)   The  People's  Schools 

Dorpfeld,  Zwei  padagogische  Gutachten.     Giltersloh,  1877. 
Leutz,  Lehrbuch  der  Erziehung  und  des  Unterrichts.    2d  ed. 

Tauberbischofsheim,  1887. 
Ranitzsch,  Der  Unterricht  in  der  Volksschule.      Weimar,  1888. 

(6)   The  Middle  Schools  (Burgher  and  Seal- Schools') 

Dorpfeld,  Der  Mittelstand  und  die  Mittelschule.    Barmen,  1853. 
Mager,  Die  deutsche  Biirgerschule  1840.      Ed.  by  Eberhardt. 

Langensalza. 
Otto,  Der  deutsche  Biirgerstand  und  die  deutsche  Biirgerschule. 

Leipzig,  1871. 
G.  Wiget,  Theorie  und  Praxis  des  Realschulunterrichts.     St. 

Gotten,  1889. 

(c)  Gymnasium 

Frick-Meier,  Lehrproben  und  Lehrgange.     Halle. 
Kern-H.  J.  Mtiller,  Zeitschrift  ftir  das  Gymnasialwesen.     Berlin. 
Schiller,  Handbuch  der  prakt.  Padagogik.    2d  ed.     Leipzig, 
1889. 


APPENDIX  259 

(d)  Girls'  Schools 

H.  Grosse,  Zur  Reform  des  hob.  Madchenschulwesens,  in : 
Richter,  Der  prakt.  Schulmann,  vol.  37,  1888.  Leipzig. 

Krusche,  Uebersicht  der  Litteratur  iiber  weiblicbe  Erziehung 
und  Bildung  in  Deutschland  von  1700-1886.  Leipzig, 

1887. 

(B)  SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION 
1.  SCHOOL  LEGISLATION 

Barth,  Die  Reform  der  Gesellchaft  durch  Neubelebung  des 

Gemeindewesens.     Leipzig,  1885. 
Dorpfeld,  Die  freie  Schulgemeinde  und  ihre  Anstalten  auf  dem 

Boden  der  freien  Kircbe  im  freien  Staate.     Giitersloh, 

1863. 
Dorpfeld,  Die  drei  Grundgebrechen  der  hergebrachten  Schulver- 

fassungen,  etc.    Elberfeld,  1869. 
Dorpfeld,  Ein  Beitrag  der  Leidensgeschichte  der  Volksschule 

nebst  Vorschlagen  zur  Reform  der  Schulverwaltung. 

2d  ed.    Barmen,  1883. 
Dorpfeld,   Das    Fundamentsttick  einer   gerechten,  gesunden, 

freien  und  friedlichen  Schulverfassung.    Hilchenbach, 

1892. 

Herbart,  Ueber,  Erziehung  unter  offentlicher  Mitwirkung.    1810. 
Mager,  Padagog.  Revue.  VI.  — XVH.  Band;  XIX.  Band. 

(Bruchstucke  aus  einer  deutschen  Scholastik.) 
Mager,  Die  deutsche  Biirgerschule. 

(Ed.  by  Eberhardt,  Langensalza.) 
Rein,  Zur  Schulgesetzgebung.    Deutsche  Rundschau.    April  No. 

1892.     (Comp.  Grenzboten :  Erziehung  und  Sozialis- 

mus.    No.  24,  1891. 
Rolle,  Die  Selbstandigkeit  der  Schule  inmitten  von  Staat  und 

Kirche  :  Padag.  Studien  of  Rein,  1889.     No.  4. 
Triiper,  Die  Familienrechte  an  der  offentlichen  Erziehung.    2d 

ed.     Langensalza,  1892. 
Triiper,  Die  Schule  und  die  sozialen  Fragen  unserer  Zeit.     3 

Nos.     Gutersloh,  1890. 


260     HERBAKT  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

2.  EQUIPMENT  OF  SCHOOLS 
Piltz,  Thiiring.    Schulmuseum.    Jena. 

3.  SUPERVISION  OF  SCHOOLS 

Dorpfeld,  Leidensgeschichte  der  Volksschule.   2d  ed.    Barmen, 

1882. 

4.  PREPARATION  OF  TEACHERS 
(a)  Seminaries  for  Teachers  in  the  People's  Schools 

Andrea,  Zur  inneren  Entwicklungsgeschichte  der  deutschen 
Lehrerbildungsanstalten.  Kaiserslautern,  1890-91  to 
1891-92. 

Rein,  Ueber  die  Organisation  der  Lehrerbildung  in  Deutschland. 
Padagog.  Studien,  1881.  4th  No.  Dresden. 

Stoy,  Organisation  des  Lehrerseminars.    Leipzig,  1869. 

(6)   University- Seminaries 

Brzoska,  Die  Notwendigkeit  padagog.  Seminare  auf  der  Univer- 

sitat  und  ihre  zweckmaszige  Einrichtung.    2d  ed.  by 

Rein.     Leipzig,  1887. 

(For  Bibliography  v.  p.  205  sqq.) 
Frick,  Seminar,  praeceptorum.    Halle,  1883. 
Rein,  Ueber  padagog.  Universitats-  Seminare.     Neue  d.  Schule, 

4-5  Nos. 
Rein,  Die  Ausbildung  fur   d.  Lehramt  an   hoher.    Schulen, 

Grenzboten,  1890.     8th  No. 
Rein,  Aus  dem  Pad.  Univers. -Seminare  zu  Jena.     Nos.  1-4. 

Langensalza. 

Von  Sallwiirk,  Das  Staatsseminar.     Gotha,  1890. 
Schiller,   Padagog.  Seminarien  f.  d.  hoh.  Lehramt.     Leipzig, 

1890. 

Vogt,  Das  padagog.  Universitats-Seminar.     Leipzig,  1884. 
Zange,  Gymnasial-Seminare  und  die  padagog.  Ausbildung  der 

Kandidaten  des  hoh.  Schulamts.     5th  No.  by  Frick- 

Meyer:   Sammlung  padagog.  Abhandlungen.     Halle, 

1890. 


APPENDIX  261 

II.  THEORETICAL  PEDAGOGICS 

(A)  THE  FUNDAMENTAL  SCIENCES  OF  PEDAGOGICS 

I.  ETHICS 

Fltigel,  Das  Ich  und  die  sittlichen  Ideen  im  Leben  der  Volker, 
2d  ed.  Langensalza. 

Fliigel,  Die  Sittenlehre  Jesu.    2d  ed.     Langensalza. 

Hartenstein,  Die  Grundbegriffe  der  eth.  Wissensch.  Leipzig, 
1844. 

Herbart,  Allgem.  prakt.  Philosophie.  Ed.  by  Hartenstein, 
vol.  8  ;  Gesamtausgabe,  by  Kehrbach,  vol.  4.  Langen- 
salza. 

Nahlowsky,  Praktische  Philosophie.    2d  ed.    Leipzig,  1886. 

Steinthal,  Allgem.  Ethik.    Berlin,  1885. 

Ziller,  Allgem.  philos.  Ethik.    2d  ed.    Langensalza,  1886. 

II.  PSYCHOLOGY 

Ballauff,  Die  Grundlehren  der  Psychologie.     2d  ed.      Cothen, 

1890. 

Dorpfeld,  Denken  und  Gedachtnis.    3d  ed.     Giitersloh. 
Drobisch,  Emp.  Psychologie.     Leipzig,  1843. 
Fliigel,  Die  Seelenfrage.    2d  ed.     Cothen,  1884. 
Hartmann,  Die  Analyse  des  kindl.  Gedankenkreises.   Annaberg, 

1885. 
Lange,  Ueber  Apprezeption.     4th  ed.     Plauen.    See  English 

References,  page  198. 

Lazarus,  Das  Leben  der  Seele.     3d  ed.    Berlin. 
Lukens,  Die  Vorstellungsreihen  u.  ihre  padagog.  Bedeutung. 

Giitersloh,  1892. 

Mannel,  Ueber  Abstraktion.     Giitersloh. 
Nahlowsky,  Das  Gefiihsleben.     2d  ed.    Leipzig,  1884. 
Schoel,  J.  Fr.,  Herbarts  philos.  Lehre  von  der  Religion.  Dresden, 

1884. 
Strtimpell,  Gedanken  iiber  Religion  u.  relig.  Probleme.   Leipzig, 

1888. 
Volkmann,  Lehrbuch  der  Psychologie.     3d  ed.     Cothen. 


262  HERBART  AND  THE   HERBARTIANS 

(B)  AID-SCIENCE  OF  PEDAGOGICS  :  PHYSIOLOGY 

(A)  TELEOLOGY  (see  ETHICS) 

(.B)  METHODOLOGY  (see  PSYCHOLOGY) 

I.  GENERAL  DIDACTICS 

Dorpfeld,  Der  didakt.  Materialismus.    2d  ed.     Gutersloh. 
Dorpfeld,  Grundlinien  einer  Theorie  des  Lehrplans.    Gutersloh. 
Willmann,  Didaktik  als  Bildungslehre.     2  vols.     Brunswick, 

1889. 

Willmann,  Padagog.  Vortrage.    2d  ed.     Leipzig,  1886. 
Ziller,  Grundlegung  zur  Lehre  vom  erz.  Unterricht.    2d  ed.  by 

Vogt.     Leipzig,  1884. 

1.  AIMS  OF  INSTRUCTION 

Grossler,  Das  vielseitige  Interesse.     JEisleben,  1883. 

Vieth,  Darf  vielseitiges  Interesse  als  Unterrichtsziel  hingestellt 

werden  ?     Bogasen,  1886. 
Walsemann,  Das  Interesse.    Hanover,  1884. 

2.  MEANS  OF  INSTRUCTION 
(a)  Choice  of  Material 

Rein,  Gesinnungsunt.  und  Kulturgeschichte :  Padagog.  Studien 

1888.     2d  No.     Dresden. 
v.  Sallwiirck,  Gesinnungsunt.  u.  Kulturgeschichte.   Langensalza, 

1887. 

(6)  Connection  of  Branches 

Ackermann,  Ueber  Konzentration :  Padag.  Fragen,  1st  series, 
Dresden. 

Dorpfeld,  Zwei  dringl.  Reformen  im  Real  und  Sprachunt. 
Gutersloh,  1883. 

Loos,  Der  osterr.  Gymnasiallehrplan  im  Lichte  der  Konzentra- 
tion. Vienna,  1892. 

Merian-Genast,  Ausfuhrungen  zum  Lehrplan.    Jena,  1892. 


APPENDIX  263 

Rein,  Pickel,  Scheller,  Theorie  u.  Praxis.     1st  vol.     4th  ed. 

Leipzig. 
Willmann,  Pad.  Vortrage.    2d  ed.    Leipzig. 

(c)  Treatment  of  Material 

Gleichmann,  Ueber  Herbart's  Lehre  von  den  formalen  Stufen. 

2d  ed.     Langensalza,  1892. 

Reich,  Die  Theorie  der  Formalstufen.     Langensalza,  1889. 
Th.  Wiget,  Die  formalen  Stufen.     4th  ed.     Chur,  1892. 

II.  SPECIAL  DIDACTICS 

Frick-Meier,  Lehrproben  und  Lehrgange.     Halle. 

Jahrbiicher  des  Vereins  fur  w.  Padagogik.     Dresden. 

Rein,  Pickel,  Scheller,  Theorie  und  Praxis  des  Volksschulunter. 

richts,  etc.     Vols.  i.-viii.    4th  ed.     Leipzig. 
Schiller,  Handbuch  der  prakt.  Padagogik.    2d  ed.    Leipzig. 
Ziller-Bergner,  Materialien  zur  spez.  Padagogik.   Dresden,  1886. 

1.  INSTRUCTION  IN  RELIGION 

Dorpfeld,  Ein  christl.-padag.    Protest.     Gutersloh,  1869. 

Reukauf,  Philos.  Begriindung  des  Lehrplans  des  ev.  Rel.-Unt. 
an  hoh.  Schulen.  Langensalza,  1892. 

Staude,  Praparationen  zu  den  bibl.  Gesch.  des  alten  und  neuen 
Testaments.  3  vols.  6th  ed.  Dresden. 

Thrandorf,  Die  Behandlung  des  Religionsunterrichts.  Langen- 
salza, 1887. 

Thrandorf,  Kirchengeschichtl.  Lesebuch.     Dresden,  1888. 

Thrandorf,  Der  Religionsunterricht.  (Praparationen.)  Dres- 
den, 1890. 

2.  HISTORY 

Dorpfeld,  Repetitorium  der  Gesellschaftskunde  und  Begleitwort. 
2d  ed.  Giitersloh,  1890. 

Eberhardt,  Ueber  Gesch. -Tint.  Padag.  Studien.    4th  No.   Vienna. 

Staude-Gb'pfert,  Praparationen  zur  deutschen  Geschichte.  Dres- 
den, 1890. 

Willmann,  Der  elem.  Gesch.-Unt.     Leipzig,  1872. 


264     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

Wohlrabe,  Praparationen  zu  profangesch.  Quellenstoffen.  Gotha, 

1887. 
Zillig,  Der  Geschichtsunt.      XIV.  Jahrbuch  d.  Vereins  £,  w. 

Padagogik. 

3.  DRAWING 

Menard,  Der  Zeichenunterricht.     Neuwied. 
Otto-Rein,  Padagog.  Zeichenlehre.     3d  ed.     Weimar,  1885. 
Rein,  Geschichte  des  Zeichenunt.     2d  ed.     Gotha,  1889. 
Rein,  Der  Zeichenunterricht  iin  Gymnasium.     Hanover,  1889. 

4.  SINGING 

I 
Helm,  Gesangunterricht  in  "  Theorie  und  Praxis."    Vols.  i- 

viii.     Leipzig. 

5.  INSTRUCTION  IN  LANGUAGE 

Mager,  Die  genet.  Methode  des  schulmassigen  Unterrichts  in 
fremden  Sprachen  und  Litteraturen.  3d  ed.  Zurich, 
1846. 

Mager,  Moderne  Humanitatsstudien.    3  Nos.     Zurich. 

(a)  German 

Bliedner,  Schillerlesebuch.     Dresden. 

Eberhardt,  Die  Poesie  in  der  Volksschule.    3  vols.,  3d  ed.    Lan- 

gensalza,  1886. 
Stoy,  Der  deutsche  Sprachunt.     3d  ed.     Vienna,  1868. 

(6)   Other  Foreign  Languages 

Batgen,  Zur  Neugestaltung  des  franzos.  Unt.     Eisenach,  1886. 
Gtinther,  Der  Lateinunt.     XIII.  Jahrbuch  d.  V.  f.  w.  Pad. 
Dresden. 

6.  GEOGRAPHY 

Heiland,  Das  geographische  Zeichnen.    Dresden,  1887. 
Matzat,  Methodik  des  geogr.  Unt.     Berlin,  1886. 


APPENDIX  265 


7.  NATURAL  SCIENCES 

Beyer,  Die  Naturwissenschaften  in  der  Erziehungsschule.  Leip- 
zig, 1885. 

Conrad,  Praparationen  f.  d.  Physik-Unterricht.     Dresden,  1889. 

Dorpfeld,  Repetitor.  d.  naturkundl  u.  humanist.  Unt.  3d  ed. 
Gutersloh. 

Schleichert,  Anleitg.  zu  botan.  Beobachtungen,  etc.  Langen- 
salza,  1891. 

8.  MATHEMATICS 

Falke,  Propadeutik  der  Geometric.    Leipzig,  1869. 

Fresenius,  Die  psycholog.  Grundlagen  der  Raumwissenschaft. 

Wiesbaden,  1868. 

Fresenius,  Raumlehre.     Frankfurt,  1861. 
Hartmann,  Handbuch  des  Rechenunterrichts.  Hildburghausen, 

1889. 
Pickel,  Die  Geometric  der  Volksschule.    16th  ed.     Dresden. 

9.  MANUAL  TRAINING 

Barth-Niederley,  Des  d.  Knaben  Handwerkbuch.    5th  ed.    Leip- 
zig, 1882. 
Barth-Niederley,  Die  Schiilerwerkstatt.    Leipzig,  1882. 

10.  TURNING 
Hausmann,  Das  Turnen  in  der  Volksschule.    4th  ed.    Weimar. 

THEORY  OF  GUIDANCE 

1.  TRAINING 

*      Barth,  Ueber  den  Umgang.    3d  ed.    Langensalza. 

Kindergottesdienst,  Ev.  Schulbl.  von  Dorpfeld,  1887  u.  1888; 

Erziehungsschule  von  Barth.     II. ,  9. 
Scholz,  Schulreisen.    Aus  dem  padagog.  Uiiiversitats-Seminar. 

3d  No.     Langensalza,  1890. 
Striimpell,  Die  padag.  Pathologie.    Leipzig,  1890. 


266  HERBAKT  AND  THE   HERBARTIANS 


2.  GOVERNMENT  OF  CHILDREN 

Nahlowsky,  Ueber  Herbarts  reformator.  Beruf.  Zeitschrift  f. 

exakte  Philosophie,  VII.,  391-97. 
Rein,  Regierung,  Unterricht  u.  Zucht.    Padag.  Studien.  1st  No. 

3d  ed.     Vienna. 

Stoy,  Haus-  und  Schulpolizei.    Berlin,  1856. 
Ziller,  Regierung  der  Kinder.    Leipzig,  1857. 

THE  ENGLISH  LITERATURE   ON  THE   HERBARTIAN 
SYSTEM 

THE  following  references  contain  most  of  what  has  been 
written  in  English  upon  the  subject  of  the  Herbartian  peda- 
gogics. No  attempt  has  been  made  to  refer  to  works  outside  of 
this  field.  The  English-speaking  teacher  will,  of  course,  have  a 
more  or  less  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  already  extensive 
English  literature  on  the  subject  of  Pedagogy  in  general.  He  has 
but  to  refer  to  such  sources  as  the  Bibliography  of  Education 
(Boston,  1886),  by  G.  S.  Hall  and  J.  M.  Mansfield,  and  the  "  Bib- 
liography of  Pedagogy"  in  Sonnenschein's  Cyclopedia  of  Edu- 
cation (3d  ed.  1892),  to  obtain  the  most  comprehensive  and 
accurate  directions  to  the  literature  of  every  possible  depart- 
ment of  education,  or  to  Dr.  W.  T.  Harris's  Teachers1  Course 
of  Professional  Beading  for  Home  Work  and  Beading  Circles, 
for  a  general,  profitable  course  of  reading.  The  following  list 
will  be  of  service  to  those  who  desire  to  become  more  familiar 
with  the  rising  Herbartian  views :  — 
Brown,  G.  P. :  What  is  Interest  ?  in  Public  School  Journal, 

vol.  xii.,  No.  1.,  Bloomington,  III. 

De  Garmo,  Dr.  Charles :  Essentials  of  Method,  Boston,  1889 ; 
Ethical  Training  in  the  Public  Schools  ;  Am.  Academy 
of  Pol.  and  Soc.  Science,  publication  No.  49,  Phila- 
delphia; Language  Work  below  the  High  Schools, 
Bloomington,  III.,  since  1887  ;  The  Herbartian  System 
of  Pedagogics,  in  the  Educational  Review,  New  York, 
vol.  i.,  Nos.  1,  3,  and  5 ;  The  Relation  of  Instruction  to 


APPENDIX  267 

Will  Training,  in  the  publications  of  the  Am.  Nat.  Ed. 
Assoc.,  1890  ;  What  does  Apperception  Mean  ?  in  the 
Public  School  Journal,  vol.  x.,  No.  11, 1891,  Blooming- 
ton,  III. ;  A  popular  View  of  Apperception,  Public 
School  Journal,  vol.  xii.,  No.  3,  Bloomington,  III. ; 
Coordination  of  Studies,  Educational  Review,  vol.  iv., 
No.  5 ;  The  Educational  Value  of  Natural  Science  in 
Elementary  Schools,  in  Ed.  Papers  by  Illinois  Science 
Teachers,  i.,  1889-90. 

Donaldson :  Lectures  on  the  History  of  Education  in  Prussia 
and  England,  Edinburgh,  1874,  mentions  Ziller's  work 
briefly  and  favorably. 

Douglas,  C.  H. :  Certain  Views  of  Herbart  on  Mathematics  and 
Natural  Science,  Educational  Review,  vol.  iii. ,  No.  5. 

Findlay,  J.  J. :  Herbartian  Literature  in  English,  School  and 
College,  October  and  November,  1892. 

Hall,  Dr.  H.:  Notes  of  the  German  Schools,  contains  refer- 
ences to  Herbart. 

Harris,  Dr.  W.  T. :  Apperception  Defined,  and  Apperception 
versus  Perception,  in  the  Public  School  Journal, 
vol.  xi.,  Nos.  2  and  5. 

Herbart :  The  Science  of  Education,  and  The  ./Esthetic  Kevela- 
tion  of  the  World,  translated  by  Henry  M.  and  Emmie 
Felkin  —  Swan  Sonnenschein  &  Co.,  London,  1892. 

Herbart:  Psychology,  translated  by  Miss  M.  K.  Smith,  Inter- 
national Education  Series,  New  York,  1891. 

Iilemm,  L.  R. :  European  Schools,  mentions  the  Herbartian 
Pedagogics,  and  gives  some  criticism,  International 
Education  Series,  New  York. 

Lange :  Ueber  Apperception,  translated  by  the  Herbart  Club 
in  America,  Boston,  1892. 

Lindner:  Empirical  Psychology,  translated  by  Dr.  Charles 
De  Garmo,  New  York,  1890. 

Lukens,  Dr.  H.  T. :  Herbart's  Psychological  Basis  of  Teaching, 
Part  II.  of  Th.  B.  Noss's  Outlines  of  Psychology  and 
Pedagogy,  Pittsburgh,  1890. 

McMurry,  Dr.  Charles  A. :  The  Elements  of  General  Method 


268     HERBART  AND  THE  HERBARTIANS 

based  on  the  Principles  of  Herbart,  Bloomington,  III., 
1892  ;  A  Geography  Plan  for  the  Grades  of  the  Com- 
mon Schools,  and  Pioneer  History  Stories  for  the  3d 
and  4th  Grade,  Bloomington,  III.,  1891 ;  How  to  Con- 
duct the  Recitation,  Teachers'  Manuals,  No.  13,  New 
York  and  Chicago. 

McMurry,  Dr.  Frank:  The  Moral  Value  of  Fairy  Tales  and 
Imaginative  Literature  for  Children,  in  Public  School 
Journal,  Bloomington,  III.,  vol.  x.,  No.  11,  and  vol.  xi., 
No.  3 ;  Relation  of  Sciences  to  the  other  Studies,  in 
Ed.  Papers  by  Illinois  Science  Teachers,  i.,  1889-90, 
Peoria,  III.;  Value  of  Herbartian  Pedagogy  for  Nor- 
mal Schools,  in  Proceedings  of  Nat.  Ed.  Assoc.  for  1892. 

Prince,  J.  T. :  Methods  in  German  Schools,  mentions  the  Her- 
bartian Pedagogics  briefly,  and  gives  some  criticism. 

Eibot,  T. :  German  Psychology  of  To-day,  contains  a  digest  of 
Herbart's  psychology,  New  York,  1880. 

Salmon,  Lucy  M. :  The  Teaching  of  History  in  the  Elementary 
Schools,  Educational  Review,  New  York,  vol.  i.,  No.  5, 
contains  brief  reference  to  the  principles  of  the  histor- 
ical stages  of  culture  and  concentration. 

Smith,  Margaret  K. :  Herbart's  Life,  three  articles  in  the  New 
England  Journal  of  Education,  1889. 

Ufer :  Introduction  to  the  Pedagogy  of  Herbart,  translated  by 
J.  C.  Zinser,  edited  by  Charles  De  Garmo  —  D.  C. 
Heath  &  Co. 

Van  Liew,  C.  C. :  Life  of  Herbart  and  Development  of  his 
Pedagogical  Doctrines  —  Swan  Sonnenschein  &  Co., 
London,  1893. 

Ward:  Article  in  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  on  Herbart, 
important  psychologically. 


Norfoooli 
J.  8.  Gushing  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith. 
Boston,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


gditcattfvs. 

Edited  by  NICHOLAS  MURRAY  BUTLER. 


' '  Just  in  the  right  time  to  meet  the  needs  of  a  large  number  of  teach- 
ers who  are  casting  about  to  find  something  fundamental  and  satisfying 
on  the  theory  of  education."  — HON.  W.  T.  HARRIS,  U.S.  Commissioner 
of  Education.  

ARISTOTLE  and  the  Ancient  Educational  Ideals.     By  THOMAS 
DAVIDSON,  M.A.,  LL.D.    i2mo.    $1.00  net. 

ALCUIN  and  the  Rise  of  the  Christian  Schools.    By  Prof.  ANDREW 
F.  WEST,  Princeton.     I2mo.    jjii.oo  net. 

ABELARD  and  the  Origin  and  Early  History  of  Universities.    By 
JULES  GABRIEL  COMPAYRE.    i2mo.    $1.25  net. 

LOYOLA  and  the  Educational  System  of  the  Jesuits.    By  Rev. 
THOMAS  HUGHES,  S.J.    i2mo.    $1.00  net. 

FROEBEL  and  Education  through  Self- Activity.     By  H.  COURT- 
HOPE  BOWEN,  University  of  Cambridge.     I2mo.    $1.00  net. 

HERBART  and  the  Herbartians.    By  CHARLES  DEGARMO,  Presi- 
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VOLUMES  IN  PREPARATION. 

ROUSSEAU  and  Education  according  to  Nature.    By  Prof.  PAUL 
H.  HANUS,  Harvard. 

THOMAS  ARNOLD  and  the  Contemporary  Educational  Move- 
ment in  England.     By  J.  G.  FITCH,  LL.D.,  Inspector  of  Training 

Colleges  in  England. 

PESTALOZZI,  the  Friend  and  Student  of  Children. 

HORACE  MANN  and  Public  Education  in  the  United  States.    By 

the  Editor. 

The  history  of  great  educators  is,  from  an  important  point  of  view, 
the  history  of  education.  These  volumes  are  not  only  biographies,  but 
concise  yet  comprehensive  accounts  of  the  leading  movement  in  educa- 
tional thought,  and  furnish  a  genetic  account  of  educational  history. 
Ancient  education,  the  rise  of  the  Christian  schools,  the  foundation  and 
growth  of  universities,  and  the  great  modern  movements  suggested  by 
the  names,  are  adequately  described  and  criticised. 

Copies,  subject  to  the  privilege  of  return,  will  be  sent  for  examination  to 
any  Teacher  upon  receipt  of  the  Net  Price. 

The  price  paid  for  the  sample  copy  will  be  returned,  or  a  free  copy  in- 
closed, upon  receipt  of  an  order  for  TEN  or  more  copies  for  introduction. 

Correspondence  is  invited,  and  will  be  cheerfully  answered.  Catalogur 
sent  free.  •  

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS, 

153-157  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York. 


THE    SERIES. 


ARISTOTLE. 

The  whole  of  ancient  pedagogy  is  Professor  Davidson's  subject, 
the  course  of  education  being  traced  up  to  Aristotle,  —  an  account 
of  whose  life  and  system  forms,  of  course,  the  main  portion  of  the 
book,  —  and  down  from  that  great  teacher,  as  well  as  philosopher, 
through  the  decline  of  ancient  civilization.  An  appendix  discusses 
"  The  Seven  Liberal  Arts,"  and  paves  the  way  for  the  next  work 
in .  chronological  sequence,  —  Professor  West's,  on  Alcuin.  The 
close  relations  between  Greek  education  and  Greek  social  and 
political  life  are  kept  constantly  in  view  by  Professor  Davidson. 
A  special  and  very  attractive  feature  of  the  work  is  the  citation, 
chiefly  in  English  translation,  of  passages  from  original  sources 
expressing  the  spirit  of  the  different  theories  described. 

ALCUIN. 

Professor  West  aims  to  develop  the  story  of  educational  insti- 
tutions in  Europe  from  the  beginning  of  the  influence  of  Christian- 
ity on  education  to  the  origin  of  the  Universities  and  the  first 
beginnings  of  the  modern  movement.  A  careful  analysis  is  made 
of  the  effects  of  Greek  and  Roman  thought  on  the  educational 
theory  and  practice  of  the  early  Christian,  and  their  great  system 
of  schools,  and  its  results  are  studied  with  care  and  in  detail.  The 
personality  of  Alcuin  enters  largely  into  the  story,  because  of  his 
dominating  influence  in  the  movement. 

A6ELARD. 

M.  Compayre,  the  well-known  French  educationist,  has  prepared 
in  this  volume  an  account  of  the  origin  of  the  great  European 
Universities  that  is  at  once  the  most  scientific  and  the  most  inter- 
esting in  the  English  language.  Naturally  the  University  of  Paris 
is  the  central  figure  in  the  account;  and  the  details  of  its  early 
organization  and  influence  are  fully  given.  Its  connection  with 
the  other  great  universities  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  with  modern 
university  movement  is  clearly  pointed  out.  Abelard,  whose  system 
of  teaching  and  disputation  was  one  of  the  earliest  signs  of  the 
rising  universities,  is  the  typical  figure  of  the  movement;  and 
M.  Compayre  has  given  a  sketch  of  his  character  and  work,  from 
an  entirely  new  point  of  view,  that  is  most  instructive. 

2 


LOYOLA. 

This  work  is  a  critical  and  authoritative  statement  of  the  edu- 
cational principles  and  method  adopted  in  the  Society  of  Jesus,  of 
which  the  author  is  a  distinguished  member.  The  first  part  is  a 
sketch,  biographical  and  historical,  of  the  dominant  and  directing 
personality  of  Ignatius,  the  Founder  of  the  order,  and  his  comrades, 
and  of  the  establishment  and  early  administrations  of  the  Society. 
In  the  second  an  elaborate  analysis  of  the  system  of  studies  is  given, 
beginning  with  an  account  of  Aquaviva  and  the  Ratio  Studiorum, 
and  considering,  under  the  general  heading  of  "the  formation  of 
the  master,"  courses  of  literature  and  philosophy,  of  divinity  and 
allied  sciences,  repetition,  disputation,  and  dictation;  and  under 
that  of  "  formation  of  the  scholar,"  symmetry  of  the  courses  pur- 
sued, the  prelection,  classic  literatures,  school  management  and 
control,  examinations  and  graduation,  grades  and  courses. 

FROEBEL. 

Friedrich  Froebel  stands  for  the  movement  known  both  in 
Europe  and  in  this  country  as  the  New  Education,  more  completely 
than  any  other  single  name.  The  kindergarten  movement,  and  the 
whole  development  of  modern  methods  of  teaching,  have  been 
largely  stimulated  by,  if  not  entirely  based  upon,  his  philosophical 
exposition  of  education.  It  is  not  believed  that  any  other  account 
of  Froebel  and  his  work  is  so  complete  and  exhaustive,  as  the  author 
has  for  many  years  been  a  student  of  Froebel's  principles  and 
methods  not  only  in  books,  but  also  in  actual  practice  in  the  kin- 
dergarten. Mr.  Bowen  is  a  frequent  examiner  of  kindergartens,  of 
the  children  in  them,  and  of  students  who  are  trained  to  be  kinder- 
garten teachers. 

HERB  ART. 

In  this  book,  President  DeGarmo  has  given,  for  the  first  time 
in  the  English  language,  a  systematic  analysis  of  the  Herbartian 
theory  of  education,  which  is  now  so  much  studied  and  discussed 
in  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  as  well  as  in  Germany.  Not 
only  does  the  volume  contain  an  exposition  of  the  theory  as 
expounded  by  Herbart  himself,  but  it  traces  in  detail  the  develop- 
ment of  that  theory  and  the  additions  to  it  made  by  such  distin- 
guished names  as  Ziller,  Stoy,  Frick,  Rein,  and  the  American 
School  of  Herbartians.  Especially  valuable  will  be  found  Dr. 
DeGarmo's  careful  and  systematic  exposition  of  the  problems  that 
centre  around  the  concentration  and  correlation  of  studies.  These 
problems  are  generally  acknowledged  to  be  the  most  pressing  and 
important  at  present  before  the  teachers  of  the  country. 

3 


NOTICES   OF   THE   SERIES. 

"Admirably  conceived  in  a  truly  philosophic  spirit  and  executed  with 
unusual  skill.  It  is  rare  to  find  books  on  pedagogy  at  once  so  instructive 
and  so  interesting.  ...  I  hope  to  read  them  all,  which  is  more  than 
I  can  say  of  any  other  series."— WILLIAM  PRESTON  JOHNSTON,  Tulane 
University. 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  see  this  excellent  contribution  to  the  history  of 
education.  Professor  Davidson's  work  is  admirable.  His  topic  is  one 
of  the  most  profitable  in  the  entire  history  of  culture. "  —  W.  T.  HARRIS, 
U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education. 

' '  I  have  examined  with  much  interest  Professor  West's  work  — '  Alcuin 
and  the  Rise  of  the  Christian  School. '  I  cannot  doubt  that  the  series  of 
'Great  Educators,'  under  the  general  editorial  supervision  of  Professor 
Butler,  Will  be  Of  much  value. ' '  —  GEORGE  P.  FISHER,  Yale  University. 

' '  The  Scribners  are  rendering  an  important  service  to  the  cause  of 
education  in  the  production  of  the  '  Great  Educators  Series. '  "  —  Journal 
of  Education . 

' '  We  have  not  too  many  series  devoted  to  the  history  and  the  theory 
of  education,  and  the  one  represented  at  the  present  moment  by  the  two 
volumes  before  us  promises  to  take  an  important  place  —  a  leading  place 
—  amongst  the  few  we  have. ' '  —  London  Educational  Times. 

' ' '  Aristotle  '  is  delightful  reading.  I  know  nothing  in  English  that 
covers  the  field  of  Greek  Education  so  well.  You  will  find  it  very  hard 
to  maintain  this  level  in  the  later  works  of  the  Series,  but  I  can  wish 
you  nothing  better  than  that  you  may  do  so. "  —  G.  STANLEY  HALL,  Clark 
University. 

' '  I  have  had  great  pleasure  in  examining  the  advance  sheets  of 
Davidson's  'Aristotle,  and  the  Ancient  Educational  Ideals.'  It  is  a 
book  that  appeals  to  the  rank  and  file  of  teachers,  and  its  reading  is 
sure  to  give  inspiration  and  pedagogical  insight."  —  WILL  S.  MONROE, 
California. 

' '  Please  forward  at  once  twenty  copies  of  'Aristotle  and  the  Ancient 
Educational  Ideals,'  by  Thomas  Davidson.  It  is  a  great  book,  and  I 
must  give  my  Senior  Class  a  taste  of  it  before  they  graduate." — J.  C. 
GREENOUGH,  State  Normal  School,  Westfield,  Mass. 

"This  volume  on  St.  Ignatius  of  '  Loyola  and  the  Educational  System 
of  the  Jesuits, '  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hughes,  will  probably  be  welcomed 
by  others  besides  those  specially  interested  in  the  theories  and  methods 
of  education.  Written  by  a  member  of  the  Jesuit  Society,  it  comes  to 
us  with  authority,  and  presents  a  complete  and  well  arranged  survey  of 
the  work  of  educational  development  carried  out  by  Ignatius  and  his 
followers. ' '  — London  Saturday  Review. 

' '  No  one,  in  England  or  America,  is  fitted  to  give  a  more  sympathetic 
or  lucid  interpretation  of  Froebel  than  Mr.  Courthope  Bowen.  .  .  .  Mr. 
Bowen's  book  will  be  a  most  important  addition  to  any  library,  and  no 
student  of  Froebel  can  afford  to  do  without  it. "  —  KATE  DOUGLAS  WIGGIN, 
New  York  City. 

"Professor  West's  '  Alcuin '  —a  very  interesting  and  scholarly  treat- 
ment of  an  attractive  and  important  theme. ' '  —  EDWARD  H.  GRIFFIN,  Johns 
Hopkins  University. 

' '  I  take  pleasure  in  saying  that  '  Alcuin '  seems  to  me  to  combine 
careful  scholarly  investigation  with  popularity,  and  condensation  with 
interest  of  detail,  in  a  truly  admirable  way."  —  Professor  G.  T.  LADD, 
of  Yale. 


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